Predator: Hunters
by Bastet1023
Summary: A Predator come to Earth for a hunt, finding that he is not the only hunter there. Soon, with the help of a human hunter, he finds a new kind of prey: Vampires
1. Hunter of the Stars, Hunter of Earth

_Yay! I've started a new story. This one is more supernatural than my other stories. Hope youguys like it!_

**Chapter 1: Hunter of the Stars, Hunter of Earth**

Tarn'se lay on his bed in his quarters, imaging the hunt that approached as quickly as the ship he resided on flew through space. His yellow eyes lit up in excitement as he thought of the particular species that was to be his prey: humans.

Like any other Yautja hunter, Tarn'se loved a challenge. But, unlike other hunters, he truly loved surprises; he didn't know why, but having your prey turn to do something completely unexpected was just a greater thrill to him, not an annoyance or danger that others thought them to be. And if one thing was to be certain about humans was they were full of surprises.

Tarn'se began to put on the warming, metal mesh suit as an alarm set though the ship, announcing that the departure for the hunt upon the human home world, Earth, would begin in an hour. Although it did not take that long to prepare for the hunt, it never hurt to be ready early.

Glancing up at the few trophies that he had brought along on this hunt, Tarn'se locked his eyes with the empty sockets of a human skull. With a fierce smile, Tarn'se recalled the grand chase that human had given him a few years ago. Although the actual fight was quite short, he had to give the human credit for its skills; though they failed miserably when tested against his training as a warrior.

Strapping on the durable metal plates, Tarn'se recalled the thrill he got from hunting those humans for the first time. He didn't understand why he had gotten such a rush at hunting that particular species, but he could not wait to try hunting the creatures again.

He walked over to the storage space which he placed his weapons and grabbed his net gun, shoulder-mounted plasma caster, spear and gauntlets. He hesitated as he reached for his disc; he had used it a bit much out of all of he weapons recently. Instead he selected the shrunken, the bladed discs instead; he wanted to see how these worked out against the humans.

Finally, he grabbed his helmet, classical in design, he preferred function over fashion. Strapping it on securely, Tarn'se closed the storage space and made sure he had not forgotten anything.

After shifting around his armor a bit more to make the entire suit more comfortable, Tarn'se left his room to head towards the docking bay, grinning all the while.

* * *

Jaelre greeted him at the entrance of the docking chamber. After greeting each other with the customary shaking of another's shoulder, Jaelre said with a smile, "How is the short one feeling about the upcoming hunt." 

Tarn'se glared at his comrade and jabbed his fist at him jokingly. To Jaelre's eight feet, everyone was short. He was so tall that at a quick glance some thought him to be female! Luckily, none but the stupidest of warriors wanted to get Jar'lede truly angry, so he rarely got much taunting.

Tarn'se on the other hand, was short for a Yautja, no way around it. However, his agility and strength made up for his smaller statue, making him just as deadly as any other, as some warriors learned painfully.

After glaring at his friend for a moment more, Tarn'se answered the question, "As excited as any other hunt."

"Oh? I would have thought that you were a bit more interested, being you have not shut up about it for the past week!" Tarn'se tried for another swat at Jar'lede who jumped out of the way. Jar'lede was always the sarcastic one, ready to make a joke or annoying comment out of any statement.

"Perhaps I am a little more intrigued in this hunt," Tarn'se admitted, "What are your feelings of it? In my own excitements, I do not believe I had gotten your view on the coming hunt."

Jaelre paused to think about it, his face going slack and somewhat blank.

Tarn'se watched his friend's reaction carefully. Jaelre for some reason always seemed to be able to almost predict how a hunt would go; right down to if any hunters would die.

Jaelre seemed to snap out of a trance, and with a shake of his head, his usual twisting smile was on his face. "This hunt will be much different from any other I feel, though it could be my mind wandering off on me."

"That's no the first time it's happened," Tarn'se laughed as Jaelre laughed along; begin how often he joked at others, Jaelre had come to expect barbs such as those at his expense.

Jaelre opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by an announcement stating that the hunters that were departing to the planet to prepare their pods for departure. With a rough shoulder shake as a farewell, the two left to enter their pods.

* * *

Tarn'se winced as his pod was jettisoned from the main hull of the starship. The thrusters on either side of his pods began to propel him to the correct coordinates his hunt would take place at. 

Tarn'se smiled broadly at the rotating blue-green orb that hung in front of his view screen. Vaguely remembering Jaelre's word, Tarn'se felt this hunt would be unlike any other he had experienced.

* * *

The hunter sat on the edge of the roof, watching the empty streets as if waiting for something. A passerby may have mistaken the crouching figure for some sort of tacky gargoyle the owner of the house had bought in an attempt to make the rundown old building look like some sort of haunted mansion; when in reality, there was no owner of the building, it was merely a storehouse for the city's current 'occupants' to use at will. 

Suddenly, the still figure's head turned to watch a lone figure turn the corner and walk down the sidewalk. By simply watching the woman's stride and small movements, the hunter knew this particular person was lost, though not a threat; the true threat lay in the shadows, also watching the lone woman.

Seeing a form move within the darkness across the street, the hunter knew it was time to act. Abandoning its' perch, the hunter dropped silent and catlike onto the windowsill below her and then down to the sidewalk, following the shadow.

* * *

The hunter now watched from the shadows behind a dumpster, purposely choosing the area to disguise any scent that might give her away to her quarry. The hunter watched the woman turn around, glancing at a piece of paper in her hand, obviously trying to find some sort of sign of where to go. 

The hunter tensed when she saw the shadowy form appear directly behind the woman without a sound. A more powerful quarry than expected, but the hunter didn't falter; too late to go back now.

The woman, her instincts alerting her to danger, spun, but saw nothing but empty air. The shadow-form appeared at that moment behind her.

"_Stop playing with your food,"_ the hunter thought in disgust at the shadow-form. As if in response to her mental thoughts, the shadow took the woman's confused moment to lunge, grabbing her hair in one hand and pinning the woman's two arms behind her with the other. The woman struggled for a moment, then became limp as a rag doll, her head falling back to expose her neck.

The hunter quickly pulled out a small hand-held crossbow, already loading with a silver tipped dart. The hunter smiled slightly and stroked the devise as a child would to a beloved toy. These old-time weapons were much more proficient than the guns and tasers modern humans used these days; so much more quiet, not to mention they got the job done just as well.

Aiming the tiny crossbow at the heart of the shadow, the hunter waited just until she saw a flash of white fangs gazing the woman neck. With complete silence, the crossbow shot the tiny dart directly at the creature, which recoiled at the feel of the dart puncture and enter its body.

The hunter cursed as the shadow dropped its prey and hissed angrily as it dug underneath its' clothes, trying to pull out the dart. She had missed; missing a target for her was rare, but it still happened; it seemed she was going to have to be rid of this creature the old fashioned way.

The creature looked up as the dagger flashed by its' face. Dodging aside, it hissed its' fury at the approaching form, which had drawn a small sword and a lethal looking dagger. The shadow looked for a quick exit, knowing it needed time to get the blasted dart out of its' body, the silver tip burning painfully and not allowing the wound to close. But looking at how close the approaching hunter was, it could not flee; it had to fight.

"Prepare for your death hunter!" the creature snarled, lunging at the hunter, claws swiping.

The hunter dodged nimbly to the side, slashing the charging creature's back with the sword. The hunter watched the creature stumble and the wound on its' back close so quickly, it didn't even bleed. The creature whirled and dove for the hunter again. This time the hunter dropped and stabbed the creature in the leg with her dagger pulling the creature to the ground with a grunt.

The creature spun and swiped at the hunter's arm, cutting open the tough leather arm straps and scoring three small cuts on her upper arm. The hunter didn't flinch.

Instead, the hunter swung her short sword down, effectively pinning the creature to the ground by the neck. Now seeing the creature up close, it turned out to be a guy, looking about only twenty years old, though the hunter knew he could be centuries old.

The creature stopped its' struggles and narrowed its eyes at the hunter, "What do you want?"

"What make you think I want something?" the hunter asked.

The pinned creature laughed, showing its' fangs, "You would have killed me by now, Ravyn, should you not have wanted something."

The hunter quickly through up the mental shields hours of meditation had helped her create, angry that this vampire could have entered her mind and found her name so easily without her notice. Using her left hand which was not holding the sword, the hunter slammed her fist down on the location of the dart, shoving it deeper into the creature's body. He gave a yelp of pain, and then fixed her with a hateful glare.

"You obviously are more skilled with your kinds' parlor tricks than actual combat," the hunter said smoothly, happy to see the angry look flare in the creature's eyes. Most of their kind, once at the top of the food chain, didn't bother keeping up fighting skills. Instead, they perfected their other innate abilities, such as teleportation and telepathy.

"What do you want?" he snarled angrily.

The hunter smiled, "Well there are lots of things I want. A million dollars, world peace, a pony… but I doubt you'd be able to supply me with any of that. There is something I do believe you could help me with though. How about the location of your master, Nacht?"

"I know no one of that name," he replied quickly.

"Please, spare me the lies. You are one of her generals; you know exactly who she is."

"I have not seen her for a very long time," the creature rectified, speaking more slowly, contemplating the chances of a bargain. "But I can tell you where that was, if you let me go."

"Alright, you first," the hunter said smiling, pulling her dagger out of the creature's leg, causing him to wince.

The creature sighed, "It was deep in Tristel's territory, some old packing plant, near the river." Clearly finished, the creature waited expectantly.

With a smile, the hunter patted the creature's cheek, "Good boy. Now run along." Jumping up, the hunter saw the creature turn and begin to jog back to the end of the road.

With a smile the hunter called out to the creature, "Oh, yes, I almost forgot to tell you!" The creature stopped and turned to hear out what the hunter had to say.

"I don't deal with vampires," the hunter said simply, her hand flashing up, holding a reloaded crossbow. With a tiny twang, the crossbow shot the dart straight into the confused vampire's heart. With a shriek of agony, the vampire fell to the ground, his body convulsing, eventually turning into ash.

With a coy smiled still on her face, Ravyn pulled out a cell phone and quickly dialed in a number. A feminine voice picked up on the other end.

"Ivy, mission completed. I'm ready for my limo."

The voice on the other end chuckled, "I'll send Nathaniel out for you."

After giving out her location, Ravyn ended the call and stepped back into the shadows and awaited the arrival of her ride.

_I hope you guys liked the beginning of this story! Please review!_


	2. Hunters and Guilds

_Here's chapter two! Thanks to Quillian and Stormseer88 for their reviews! Hope you guys like this one!_

**Chapter 2: Hunters and Guilds**

Tarn'se smiled as he eyed his first prey for his hunt. They were a small group of humans, five total, all male, and they were armed.

Perfect.

Tarn'se had landed on the planet a few hours ago, his pod hidden in a wooded area not far from this human city. He had traveled to the city using his scanners and now his long awaited hunt was finally beginning.

As the males stopped by an alleyway, Tarn'se threw a loose piece of brick deep into the alley, knowing it would catch their attention.

The humans turned at the sound, silent for a moment, and then began to walk down the alley, shouting jeers and curses from what his mask told him. Some had pulled out guns while other had knives and daggers drawn. Tarn'se crouched, really for action.

* * *

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" one of the gang members shouted out in a sing-song voice while the others laughed and call their own jeers. Herald laughed along, checking his gun to make sure it had a full clip in it. Whoever trespassed in their turf was going to pay, and pay dearly.

As his fellow gang members continued down the alleyway, Herald heard a strange clicking noise, much closer than where the crash had come from. His eyes scanned the small windows along the upper part of the alleyway, looking for some person who was trying to mess with them.

All he saw was some sort of shimmer in the air, just like the kind that came off the asphalt streets in the middle of summer.

As Herald inspected the shimmer, he failed to notice the three triangular lasers fixing on his gun, and then slowly moving up his chest. Glancing down, he finally did see the three dots. They reminded him of the lasers cops had mounted on their guns for better shots; and they where coming from the shimmer.

Herald raised his gun to fire at the shimmering apparition but it was far too late for that. The last thing Herald saw was a blot of blue white light and then all went black.

* * *

After the first human went down, the others began to shout, and those with guns began to shoot wildly. Tarn'se snorted in amusement; these humans had no idea what they were doing.

Pulling out his spear, Tarn'se aimed and heaved. The long, thin, metal shaft penetrated the air like an oversized dart, impaling one human with a gun through the chest and pinning him to the alley's brick wall, where he hung for his last few moments of life.

Now there was only one with a gun, two with knives. They looked around frantically, trying to spot whatever had killed their two comrades.

Tarn'se move quickly and silently, running across the narrow roof, jumping, and landing directly behind the human with the gun, stabbing is wrist blades through the human's back. Blood sprayed the other two humans who screamed. One ran at him blindly, swinging his knife in long arched swipes.

Tarn'se shook the now dead human off his blades, caught the charging human's arm, and rammed the still wet blades into its chest. He watched as the spark of life in the human's eyes left and dropped the corpse to the ground.

The last human turned and ran, thinking it could get away. Tarn'se casually grabbed one of his shrunken from his belt, flicked his wrist opening the blades, and threw it. The shrunken whizzed through the air, slitting the human's throat and zipping back to Tarn'se who caught it easily.

Gathering his spear Tarn'se looked at the carnage that lay before him and smiled, though inside he felt slight disappointed at the lack of fighting ability these humans showed. He shook off his feelings and began to prepare to take his trophies; there would be much more time to find harder targets.

* * *

"Wakey, wakey little bird!" Nathan called teasingly as he bounced up and down at the foot of Ravyn's small bed.

Ravyn groaned and threw a small pillow at her antagonizer in a sad attempt to shut him up. Nathan watched the pillow fly about three feet away from his position and shook his head.

"You're gonna have to get better aim than that."

"Don't you have someone else to bother?" Ravyn asked grumpily, her voice muffled through the pillows and blankets.

"Well, I was bugging Ivy for a while but she told me to go bother you. You're more fun to annoy anyway," Nathan said, grabbing the discarded pillow and tossing it upward where it landed with a soft thump on Ravyn's head.

Ravyn sighed and sat up, her short-cropped black hair sticking out at odd angles. "Alright you win! Just get out of here while I change and stop calling me little bird!" Ravyn snapped throwing the pillow at him again, which he promptly blocked.

Nathan smiled and skipped out of the room, happy his mission had been completed. Nathan was seventeen, with light brown hair and sky blue eyes, but he had been in the guild for ten years since his parents had been killed and Vanessa, the guild leader, had taken him in. She was quite fond of the kid.

Ravyn sighed; she had had such a nice dream. She was with her brother and sister again, the happy family they had once been. Now, lying awake in her bed she remembered where, what, and who she was.

She was Ravyn, a vampire hunter for the Ash Guild, a hunting group dedicated to the eradication of the vampires. There were other guilds that stuck with other "menaces to the human race" but Ash was the main guild for the vampire hunters.

Basically, the Ash guild took in run-aways, orphans, and others that knew of vampires and trained them to fight. She had been taken in only seven years ago when she was twelve and given the name Ravyn for her black hair, and black-sapphire eyes; her old name had been lost in the empty void which was her traumatized mind after the incident. She had been taken in by Jonathan, the Ash guild's other leader. He was stricter and less pitying than Vanessa, but he trained Ravyn like she was his own daughter.

Ravyn shook her head and hopped lightly out of her small bed. Her room was small, but it suited her. Just enough room to store her clothes, weapons, and the few other necessities that she needed. Each member of the guild was assigned their own small room. Currently, there were two dozen members in the Guild.

Ravyn quickly threw on a gold halter top and some shorts. It was nice that Jonathan and Vanessa had finally got some air conditioning going, but most likely they would be heading outside later and it was blazing hot.

Ravyn walked out of her room, passing the other drab, tiny rooms that lined the second floor. They were all quarters for the other hunters. However, the downstairs was much different.

The guild knew it had to keep itself secret, so in keeping up the downstairs, there was no need to show any visitors the upper level. The guild headquarters was quite large, though not as big as some mansions were in the city. The guild had to be located somewhat close to where the vampires mainly hung out, but not too close as to draw their enemies to it. The Vampire underworld tended to be in the dying parts of the city, though more powerful vampires could live in the inner city.

Ravyn walked into the small kitchen and fixed herself a bowl of cereal. Normally everyone had dinner together, but besides that there was not much family interaction in the guild. Too many were lost yearly to build strong relationships.

After her breakfast, Ravyn headed into the basement where a small lab was. It was pretty much the place where new weapons and protections were made for the hunters. It also happened to be the place that one of Ravyn's true friends pretty much lived in.

Ivy was looking at something under a microscope while Nathan stood next to her barraging her with constant questions.

Ravyn laughed when she heard Ivy threaten to dump a bottle of acid down Nathan's throat if he didn't shut up. "Is he bothering you?"

Ivy and Nathan looked up. Ivy smiled, "No not really… his questions are though." Ivy was the guild's head scientist. Most of the "scientists" were men and women who just didn't like the idea of killing something, or disabled hunters who still served the guild. She has, at the moment, bright blue hair, dyed of course, that matched her electric blue eyes.

Ivy was a telepath; a person that could read another's thoughts. Originally she had just thought she was hearing voices in her head, but soon learned to control her gift and use it well. It was a great advantage against vampires; she could go into vampires' minds easily and keep them out of her own.

Nathan smiled and shrugged, "I just wanted to know what she was doing."

Ravyn glanced at Ivy, and Ivy's eyes glowed brighter momentarily. Ivy nodded and said, "I'll tell you in a minute, but first, you need your medicine." Standing up Ivy walked over to a freezer and pulled out a small tube of a reddish-pink liquid. She took a syringe and extracted a bit. Holding out her hand, Ravyn gave Ivy her arm and grimaced as Ivy gave her the shot. Two seconds later, Ravyn was rubbing her arm while Ivy smiled at her reassuringly and sent her a quick mind message, _"You'll be fine."_

Ravyn nodded and replied quietly, "I hope so."

Nathan looked between the too suspiciously and Ivy hastily changed the subject, "Now about your question." Ivy led the two over to a large table that held an array of weapons in the making.

"I'm experimenting with this new little concoction of mine. I call it "sun in a bottle", though the name may be tossed around a bit." Ivy held up and large test-tube which contained a clear, yet glowing, liquid. "It's basically neon with a few different chemicals added. What it pretty much does is act like sunlight does to a vampire; except you'd have to get it into their blood stream for it to work."

Ravyn glanced at Ivy, "And we are going to do that…how?"

Ivy shrugged, "Well I guess you could carry a vial and dip your darts in it," she trailed off in thought.

"Is it toxic?" Nathan asked looking at the complex code that Ivy had written down on a piece of paper.

"To us?" Ivy asked. At Nathan's nod Ivy had a quizzical look on her face. "I'm not sure. I don't think so, but I can test it. Why?"

Nathan shrugged, "Maybe if we drink this stuff, when the vamps bite us, it'll kill them." Ravyn raised her brows at Nathan's thinking. It sounded possible.

Ivy shook her head, "Nah, it wouldn't work. When you would drink it, it would go down to your stomach and that's it; it would just stay there. Unless you've got some weird vamp with a taste for stomach acid, it wouldn't work. But I could…" Ivy trailed off again and an excited spark came to her eye.

"Oh, boy, you did it now," Ravyn said to Nathan. When Ivy got that look on her face, it meant something big was brewing in her head. Ivy ran back over to the microscope.

"What is it? What is it!" Nathan asked impatiently.

Without looking at them, Ivy answered, "I would need to get this stuff into the bloodstream, so maybe I can sneak it through the calcium channel in the stomach!"

"And how would you do that?" Ravyn asked.

Ivy smiled, "Mix it with milk, or something that has calcium." Ivy then hunched over her desk muttering things. Ravyn chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm.

"Well, good luck with it!" she called heading back up to the main floor, "God knows we could use something to keep those things off out necks!"

_I hope you guys liked it! Please review!_


	3. Ultimate Prey

_Here's another chapter! It's a little short, but I'll update sooner. Thanks to **Quillian, Heart of Lies, Raptor-Chick and Aqualung **for the reviews!_

**Chapter 3: Ultimate Prey**

The next day, Tarn'se began scouting out the different areas for prey. The humans he had killed last night had been merely a warm up for what he had planned later on.

Through the human day, he scouted different areas for prey; not like the humans he had killed in the alley, but something of more skill.

He felt thoroughly disappointed to find very few he would even consider to be challenging, worthy prey. He found plenty of armed and fighting humans, but never ones with much skill.

Tarn'se left after a few hours of scouting to head back to his ship for a quick rest. The more dangerous humans tended to come out a night anyway.

Ravyn knocked on Jonathan's door after listening for a few seconds to the two voices that were behind it. The one was Jonathan and the other was almost definitely Vanessa. The two voices silenced at the knock and Jonathan called, "Come in!"

The office was rather bland. Random paper clippings were tacked to a bulletin board, most of them either death-warrants for vampires or notes of where ones they were recently tracking had last been spotted.

Ravyn was greeted by expecting looks. After every hunt, the hunter was to report how the mission went. If the hunter didn't return, the result was pretty obvious.

Vanessa was a very tall, about 6' 2", African American with grey eyes and shoulder length, almost silver colored hair. Ravyn always wondered why that was, but she never asked.

Jonathan surpassed even Vanessa's height with 6' 5" and reminded Ravyn a lot of Nathan, though Jonathan was about twenty times more quiet and strict.

"So, how did it go?" Vanessa asked politely.

Ravyn shrugged, "As expected." Vanessa and Jonathan nodded, turning back to their conversation. Small talk wasn't common in the guild. Ravyn continued in a loud voice, "I did get some information you may like to know!" The two leaders paused and looked to her to continue.

"The vamp I brought down had some knowledge of where Nacht was last seen…" Ravyn trailed of. Any knowledge of the whereabouts of that particular vampire was a very precious thing.

Nacht was perhaps one of the most feared vampires. She was very old, believed to be Egyptian, and was a master of cruelty. The main concern with her was that she boasted having a cure for a turning vampire: a person who was bitten and drank a vampire's blood, but had not changed into a full-fledged vampire yet.

Originally, her boasts were ignored; until she abducted a turning vampire hunter, cured them and sent them back to their guild. The cure was never discovered off the hunter, and now, almost every guild was putting in some effort to find her and the cure.

Vanessa and Jonathan exchanged glances. Jonathan gave Ravyn a calculating look and said, "How did you get the information?"

Ravyn quickly recounted the night before, "I figured I had him dead already, why not see if he had anything valuable in his head."

The two nodded, Vanessa began to speak, "Before we go into this claim, we must make sure the vampire did not feed you any lies. We will assign you a new target tonight; one that we are almost sure has had contact with Nacht's group."

Ravyn smiled, gave a small nod, and turned to leave, "Ravyn, wait!" Ravyn turned and saw Vanessa and Jonathan exchange unsure glances. Jonathan looked at Vanessa seriously and muttered, "We should warn her." Vanessa nodded and turned to Ravyn.

"Ravyn, we believe there is something you should know about before you go tonight," Vanessa turned and pushed a button on a small TV screen in the office. The TV turned on showing a reporter that looked oddly pale for the hot summer heat.

Ravyn listen closely as the reporter spoke, _"I'm standing here at the scene of some of the most gruesome murders I've ever seen."_

Ravyn glanced back a Vanessa who motioned for her to continue listening, _"It seems that five gang members were killed last night by an unknown suspect. The bodies were found hanging upside-down, skinned with their heads missing. I will be reporting more on this story as it develops."_

Ravyn's glanced as the two leaders confused, "You think that was a vampire?"

Vanessa nodded, but Jonathan looked skeptical, "Vanessa believes it was, but I don't. Vampires don't do that. Even pissed off ones tend to keep a relatively low profile when it comes to the media. Either way, be careful tonight. We don't need to find you hanging anywhere skinned."

Ravyn nodded, and Vanessa asked, "Where did the vampire say Nacht was last located?"

"He said, 'It was deep in Tristel's territory, in an old packing plant near the river,'. Who Tristel is, I have no clue."

The two leaders nodded. Jonathan quickly gave the location of Ravyn's hunt and dismissed her.

-Time Passes-

Later that night, Ravyn walked down the streets heading towards her next location. She once again had her short sword and dagger, along with two small crossbows and two throwing knives one attached to each wrist. Her armor was nothing much: some tough leather pieces tied in various places for protection and she wore all black to assist in hiding in the shadows. She was ready for action.

As she passed by yet another drab alleyway, catcalls and raucous laughter echoed out of it. Ravyn ignored the voices and continued on her way; she had no wish to deal with street punks at this time.

Unfortunately, the group was not easily discouraged. They left their alleyway and began following Ravyn, calling out rude and suggestive phrases.

Ravyn kept on walking and ignoring them until they surrounded her and the leader, a tall burly guy, stepped in front of her and said, "Where do you think you're going honey?"

Ravyn quickly counted them; only four. She rolled her eyes and spoke crisply, "I suggest you get out of my way before I make you."

A chorus of 'Oooos' rang out from the rest of the group. The kid in front of her raised his brows, "Oh really? And what exactly are you going to do?"

Ravyn began to get annoyed; she didn't have time for this, "Get out of my way."

The kid crossed his arms over his chest, "You're not goin' anywhere."

Ravyn sighed, "This is your last warning: Move or else."

The kid smirked, "Or else what?"

Ravyn took a deep breath and attacked.

Tarn'se saw the confrontation take place. It seemed some male humans were harassing a female. He knew most female humans were weak and frail so he almost felt pity for the female. However, the female didn't seem disturbed in the least.

Tarn'se sat on the corner of a rooftop and listened in to the conversation. The female wanted to go and the males weren't letting her. At last the female threatened the male that was in front of her, but he didn't move.

Tarn'se soon learned he should pity the males, not the female.

Ravyn dropped, hooking her leg behind the thug's and pulled out sending him toppling to the ground. While the others were still in shock, Ravyn jumped up delivering the kid to her left a good kick in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The other two dove for her, the one behind her had a knife out. Ravyn jumped backward avoiding the kid's dive to her right and pulled out her own, much larger, dagger. She caught the knife wielding kid's wrist, pulling down and in, making the kid do a flip and land hard on his back.

Ravyn quickly glanced at the leader who was picking himself off the ground and delivered a well placed kick in the nose. Blood sprayed and the kid yowled in pain. Ravyn aimed for another kick when she was barreled into by the one kid she had dodged previously. Spinning in the kid's loose grip Ravyn sank her dagger into the meat of his thigh. It wasn't a deadly shot, and it wasn't even very deep, but the kid screamed bloody murder and immediately released her.

As she stood again, the leader was being dragged away by the two others. The kid with the cut thigh looked at her in fright. "Psycho bitch!" he shouted, quickly fleeing after the others. Ravyn smiled; that was actually a nice warm-up.

As Tarn'se watched the female human walk away, he knew he had found his worthy prey. She may be small and a female, but she was armed and she could fight well. From the small demonstration she had just given him, he realized she could fight as well as a Yautja female could.

Tarn'se smiled to himself and followed the female.

_Hope you liked it! Please review!_


	4. Unpleasant Surprise

_Yet another chapter from my crazy little mind! Thanks to all those who reviewed and even to those lurkers out there! (I love that little hit counter!) Hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter 4: Unpleasant Surprise**

After encountering the small gang, Ravyn walked quickly to the building that was to be her stake out for this hunt. Climbing quietly up the fire escape, Ravyn perched once again on the corner of the rooftop, waiting as still as a statue.

Suddenly a chill ran up her spine and she got the discreet feeling that she was being watched. By what exactly, she did not know. Ravyn carefully observed every inch of her surroundings, seeing nothing of interest or anything that could possibly be a person or a vampire.

Turning back to the street, Ravyn shrugged off the feeling, thinking she was just being paranoid; though her instincts had never failed her in the past.

* * *

Tarn'se followed the human female until he saw her climb a small building. Settling himself upon a higher rooftop on the building next to the one she was on, he watched her settle on the roof corner and stay there.

"_What is she doing?"_ he wondered. Normal humans never acted like this. Tarn'se snorted; normal human females didn't beat the crap out of four large and threatening males.

The female seemed to sense him and looked around carefully. Due to his cloaking, she didn't see him. Tarn'se watched as she continued to watch the street patiently.

"_She's waiting for something… but what?"_ Tarn'se scanned the street seeing nothing of interest. Deciding to wait to see what the female was looking for Tarn'se sat on the roof of the building, relaxing before the fight.

After about a half hour of waiting, Tarn'se began to get restless. How long was that female going to just sit there? His body ached to hunt something, but his mind kept him in place. Whatever this human was waiting for must be important if she could keep still so long.

After fifteen more minutes, Tarn'se was tired of waiting. He was going to hunt now. He stood up and grabbed his spear, getting ready to leap onto the human's building. Already his heart began to beat faster, the thrill of the coming hunt building in his veins.

Suddenly, the human's head turned; she had seen something. Tarn'se turned to see another human walking down the street. As he zoomed in on the human, he realized two things: one was it was female, the other was its body heat was very low. Although the human stood out against the buildings, it must be sick in order to have its body heat that low. Besides that, the human seemed to be in fine working order.

Tarn'se turned back to the female human on the roof and watched her head follow the progress of the other human. Eventually, once the human had passed the building the female was perched on, the female quickly clambered down the building and followed the other human.

Tarn'se kept close by, watching the female's progress. She was as silent as he was, slipping in and out of shadows so not to be seen.

Suddenly, Tarn'se realized what this human was doing. She was _hunting_ the other human! He had never seen this before.

Watching the human's steps it continued until it was very close and pulled out an odd weapon. It was not like the guns humans normally used; no it was something different. He watched the female pull out a small wooden dart, tipped in a bright metal. It also pulled a vial out of its pocket, uncorked it, and dipped the dart into the liquid.

Setting the dart in the contraption, the female aimed it at the other's chest. It meant to kill the other in the back with a projectile weapon! An unhonorable attack! Tarn'se growled softly; this human was unhonorable and deserved to die.

Suddenly, the human paused and unloaded the contraption, replacing the poison laid dart with a regular one. This time, she aimed at the other's neck.

* * *

Ravyn cursed mentally when she almost shot the vamp with a dart covered in Ivy's "sunlight serum". She had almost forgotten the purpose of hunting this vamp; she needed information.

Reaching for a regular dart, Ravyn kept her eyes on the vampire. She seemed unaware of her presence. Actually, she seemed dressed for a party in a simple, yet elegant, lavender dress. There were two slits on the sides that allowed for easy movement; more likely they allowed for quick moves and attacks if this vampire decided to go hunting.

Reloading with a regular dart, Ravyn aimed for the vamp's neck. If she brought the vamp down, she could get her info, kill it, and leave: easy.

Ravyn made sure her aim was true and fired. Ravyn could almost see the dart go through the vamp's neck.

Just before the dart made contact, the vamp spun in a blur, snatching the dart out of the air. Ravyn cursed; the vamp knew she was there.

With an eerie laugh, the vampire spoke, "Come out little hunter! Come and play!" Ravyn muttered another curse; she was going to have to fight this one head –on. Walking slowly out of the shadows, Ravyn prepared to fight.

* * *

Tarn'se watched his prey approach the other human. It must have missed its' shot and alerted her prey of her presence.

The female pulled out a small sword and dagger while the other remained unarmed as far as he could tell. The two exchanged insults and rude remarks, trying to goad the other into reckless action. Tarn'se smiled as the first attack was given. Perhaps he could watch for a while.

* * *

Ravyn ducked the clawed swipe of the vampire and replied with a blunt stab with her sword. The vampire leapt back and giggled happily; she liked fighting.

Ravyn knew she had to somehow pin this vamp to the ground but exactly how she was going to do that was beyond her reach.

The vampire smiled, "Come on little hunter, show me your skills." With that, the vampire lunged, having drawn a dagger, stabbing it towards Ravyn's chest. Ravyn nimbly dodged to the side and swiped with her own dagger, tearing open the vamp's shoulder. She saw the vamp wince, but the wound closed quickly. The vampire dove again, Ravyn dropping to the ground and rolling to avoid her.

Jumping up, Ravyn ran at the vampire trying for its' head. If she could some how break its neck or severely injure it, the vampire would be paralyzed for at least a minute or two. Her sword nipped the vampire's shoulder as her dagger sliced deeply into its' arm. The vampire hissed and tried to punch Ravyn as she ran by. Ravyn turned and smiled, already picking what moves she was going to attack with next.

The vampire smiled again, showing its' long, sharp fangs, "Am I too little a challenge for you? Why don't we spice it up a bit?" Suddenly, the vampire was no longer in front of Ravyn. Ravyn cursed and spun, looking for the vamp; she _hated _it when vampires teleported!

* * *

Tarn'se's eyes widened when the one human disappeared. Where did it go? He watched the female spin around, probably thinking the same thing.

Suddenly, the human reappeared behind the female, smacking her across the chest when she turned, sending her flying a good fifteen feet until she hit the ground and slid to a halt. The human approached the female slowly, seeming to enjoy the entire fight.

As the human came within three feet of the female, the female spun, holding one of her shooting weapons and fired at the human. Once again the human disappeared and the female let out a loud curse.

Tarn'se watched the human appear directly below him and watch the female get to her feet and look around. Tarn'se's eyes widened in amazement as the human ripped something out of her chest! It was the dart the female had shot at her. Only something was very wrong. The way the dart had hit and entered the human would have punctured a lung. This human should be lying on the ground in pain, coughing up blood!

Tarn'se watched the human disappear again, reappearing and attacking the female from behind. This wasn't right. Now he at least understood why the female was planning on shooting the human at first; it would have at least evened things up a bit in the fight.

Tarn'se pulled out his spear, but continued to watch the battle; he would interfere only if he felt it was necessary.

* * *

Ravyn pulled herself up from the ground for the hundredth time. Getting knocked around like a rag doll by a sadistic vampire was not the most fun thing in the world, especially with the damned thing teleporting every few seconds!

With a lighthearted giggle, the vampire reappeared, leaning against a wall, "Are you tiring of me already, little hunter? I thought you wanted to play?"

Ravyn glared at the vampire, picking up her sword, "Hey, it's not my fault you don't believe in a fair fight."

The vampire smiled and shook her head, "Life is never fair, little hunter; you should know that," she admonished.

Ravyn smiled, "Yeah, I guess it's not. Then again, I'm lucky. I don't have to run around sucking on rats to survive." That jibe did it. The vampire's eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed in rage. Vampires had a sort of social scale depending on their chosen prey. The lowest were the vampires that couldn't live with themselves and ended up in alleyways drinking the blood of small animals, such as rats, to survive. They where looked at as the fodder of the vampire world. To call a relatively high-ranking vamp something like that was an ultimate insult.

The vampire lunged screaming a variety of curses in different languages, her clawed hands curling viciously, all thoughts aimed on ripping Ravyn apart.

Ravyn used the blunt attack to shove her sword hilt-deep into the vampire's gut. The vampire screamed in pain and anger as she pushed Ravyn away. Ravyn stumbled back at the tremendous shove and lost her grip on her sword, leaving it impaling the vampire.

The vampire stumbled back as well, not used to such pain as having a sword run through her. With an annoyed growl, the vampire snapped the hilt off the blade like breaking a dry twig in half. Reaching her arm around behind her, she grasped the blade and pulled it out of her. Holding the broken sword in front of her, she threw the two pieces in opposite directions, where they clattered on the asphalt noisily. She then pulled back the soft fabric of her dress watching the deep wound heal.

* * *

Tarn'se felt his jaw drop as the human ripped the sword out of its body and the wound healed almost instantly! This was impossible! Humans could not do such things! How was it doing that!

Many questions darted through his head, each going unanswered. He would need to report such a thing back to the Elders, but how could he if he didn't even know what the thing was?

"_Maybe the female knows,"_ he thought. After all, it had started hunting the strange human originally, so it must know something about it!

Pulling out a shrunken, Tarn'se continued to watch as the two humans faced off again.

* * *

Her angry eyes darted to Ravyn, "You will pay for that hunter! Look what you've done to my dress!" She gestured to the deep crimson stains that had leaked out of her wound onto her lavender dress.

"I just stabbed you through the chest and you're worried about your dress? Now that's being vain," Ravyn muttered, knowing perfectly well the vampire could hear her. She threw a quick glance at her broken sword and sighed mentally, _"That's the second one this month! Ivy is so going to kill me."_

Turning her attention back the vampire, she saw that it had disappeared again. Ravyn sighed in annoyance and turned to find the vampire staring her straight in the face. Ravyn yelped and jumped back, but it was too late. The vampire had her in a strong hold, both arms pinned behind her back. Grabbing her short cropped hair, finally getting a decent grip, the vampire wrenched Ravyn's head back, "Goodbye little hunter," The vampire whispered into Ravyn's ear. Ravyn struggled in vain as the vampire lowered her mouth to Ravyn's throat…

_Thanks for reading! PLEASE REVIEW!_


	5. New Predator

_Here's another chapter, fresh from my little mind! Thank you all for the reviews!_

**Chapter 5: New Predator**

There was a loud whirling noise and the vampire hissed loudly, dropping Ravyn to the ground, clutching her throat. Ravyn looked up to see that somehow the vampire's throat had been slit.

Not one to question luck when it came along, Ravyn jumped up, holding her dagger out defensively.

The vampire spun back to her and hissed, "So the hunter brought friends." Ravyn blinked. She didn't remember Jonathan or Vanessa mentioning that they were sending back-up, but at the moment, Ravyn was quite grateful.

Still hissing the vampire took another stab with its dagger, narrowly missing Ravyn's stomach. Ravyn glanced around, trying to find who had helped her and where they were.

Unfortunately, the vampire wasn't about to give Ravyn time to look around. It was furious now and kept teleporting every few seconds, eventually managing to trip Ravyn. Looming over Ravyn, the vampire smiled, its' foot on Ravyn's chest and the dagger not far away.

"This is the end for you, little hunter," the vampire said, drawing the dagger back for a stab.

And with a burst of blood, a large hole appeared in the vampire's chest. The vampire screamed in agony as it was lifted off the ground and thrown away from Ravyn, landing roughly on the ground. For her position, Ravyn could tell that the vampire's heart had not been hit.

Ravyn looked to her savior to find nothing there… but there was something. A shimmer rose from the ground, blood for the vampire somehow floating in the air as if it was on some invisible wall.

Electric crackling came from directly in front of her and a being appeared where the shimmer had once been.

Ravyn couldn't help but gape at the thing. She had never seen anything like it. It was huge! It had to be at least seven feet tall! Its' skin was a brownish red, speckled with blacks and oranges. Sharp black talons extended from where the finger and toe nails would be on a person. It wore a leather-like loincloth along with a blackish-silver metal armor strapped on its shoulders, arms, and legs. It had black dreadlocks strung with golden rings that protruded out from a hidden face. The mask on the thing was the creepiest part. Reflective lenses bore into Ravyn as she stared back, wondering exactly what this thing was.

Then she noticed the weapons. A sort of gun was mounted on the thing's shoulder, pointing at Ravyn. It had two long and lethal blades coming out of some sort of contraption on its wrist. There were also different objects in holsters on the thing's belt which Ravyn could not discern the purpose of them. It also held a spear that was still stained with the blood of the vampire.

"_It least that explains the whole 'exploding chest and flying thorough the air' thing,"_ Ravyn thought eyeing the spear. Hundreds of questions ran through her head from: "What the hell is this thing" to "Why did it spear the vampire". At the moment, she settled for staring at the thing in shock.

A loud hiss caught the attention of both Ravyn and the creature. The vampire had healed and was now eyeing Ravyn and the creature with rage. The creature tilted its head and seemed confused about the vampire. Ravyn didn't blame it. If this thing knew anything about humans, it would know that a stab through the chest should kill one.

The vampire eyed the creature with a venomous look, "I see the hunters have got a new sort of pet. Let's see how well it's trained." The vampire disappeared and the creature seemed to growl. Ravyn had finally regained her wits and ran to hide behind a nearby dumpster. She wondered vaguely how this thing would handle a vampire. Ravyn saw the vampire appear behind the creature silently. Ravyn bit back a warning; she didn't really know what side this thing was on even though it saved her butt twice.

The vampire crept up slowly and pulled out its dagger. Ravyn blinked and the next thing she knew was the creature had used lighting-fast reflexes to catch the vampire's stab and throw it into a building. The vampire collided with the brick wall and fell to the ground, a few pieces falling down around her.

Ravyn was impressed. This thing was as fast as a vampire, if not more. The creature watched the vampire stand and hiss angrily at it. The vampire lunged again and Ravyn could tell that this time the vampire wasn't just angry, she was vivid. The vampire's dress was now torn in a dozen places and splattered in blood. Ravyn chuckled softly; so much for her favorite dress.

The creature seemed almost bored of the vampire's antics and quickly pulled out one of the odd objects Ravyn had seen in its belt. Pointing and firing at the vampire, a metal net shot out pinning the vampire to the wall behind her. The net slowly began to wind down, crushing the vampire, the metal digging and cutting into her skin. The vampire hissed in raw agony, but somehow managed to find the focus to teleport out of the net.

The creature gave another growl and looked around for the vampire. This time Ravyn saw it appear above the creature on the top of the build she had been netted to. The vampire had lost her dagger in the fight and now was crouched above the creature. Even from a distance, Ravyn could see the vampire's wicked fangs as it prepared to jump on the creature and bite.

This time, Ravyn felt a warning was necessary. No creature deserved a bite from a pissed off vampire. Ravyn knew that most vampires, when they bite a human, made the taking of blood a wonderful, blissful sensation, so the human would not struggle. One of the things that frightened hunters most was the thought of getting addicted to a vampire's bite and spending the rest of their lives looking for vampires to provide the drug-high like sensation.

But one thing a person could never want would be the bite of a pissed off vampire. If a vampire could make its feeding feel wonderful to a person, it could also make it incredibly painful. Some hunters which had survived a bite from an angry vampire described it as having acid or fire in their veins rather than blood, an experience they would rather die than feel again.

Now, this thing was about to have that exact pain be dealt to it by the vampire that lurked above its head.

"Above you!" Ravyn shouted loudly. The creature spun looking at her as the vampire leapt. Distracted by Ravyn's warning the creature was hit full force by the vampire. Ravyn cursed and ran out of her hiding spot to assist.

* * *

Tarn'se was getting increasingly annoyed. He had killed this creature three times, but somehow it just kept jumping back up!

Now it had disappeared out of his net.

Growling in annoyance, Tarn'se scanned the area. The female human had disappeared when the undying creature had attacked him. A cowardly move by the human hunter, but at the moment running away and planning a better strategy was becoming an increasingly good idea as the creature did not reappear.

Tarn'se had long ago decided that the creature he now hunted was not human. No human could withstand all of his attacks. But this left him with a problem: He knew how to kill a human, but how could he kill this thing?

Suddenly, the strange voice of the human female called out to him.

"_So it has not fled yet,"_ Tarn'se thought.

He spun to look at her and yelped when a heavy weight landed on his back. Hitting the ground he heard a hiss from the creature; too close for his like. Rolling and fighting to get the creature off of him, Tarn'se saw the creature try to bite him.

That was when he noticed the fangs. Longer and sharper than his own teeth, the creature kept snapping at him, aiming mainly for his neck.

He also noticed how strong this thing was. It had continued his roll and was now on top of him, almost pinning him to the ground. Tarn'se realized how dangerous this thing really was.

Knowing that he had to get this thing off of him, Tarn'se fired his shoulder-mounted plasma caster at the creature's head. He missed but the searing heat of the blue-white bolt burned the side of the creature's face. It screamed in pain and leapt back.

Tarn'se quickly got to his feet and flicked his wrist, the two blades popping out of the gauntlet strapped to his arm. The creature stared at the blades then crouched, hissing and baring its teeth in anger, preparing for another of its fast pounces.

It screamed as the human female jumped it from behind, stabbing it in the throat with a dagger.

* * *

Ravyn pulled the vampire to the ground and started slugging it for all it was worth. The vampire hissed weakly as it made sad attempts to fight back; the fight against both Ravyn and the creature had drained it almost to the point of death.

Ravyn wrenched the dagger out of the vampire's neck. The vampire gave a yelp and Ravyn watched the skin close quickly around the wound. Not letting the vampire recover, Ravyn dug the dagger into the vampire's chest, not touching its heart, but coming pretty damned close.

Leaning in Ravyn whispered, "Your death can be quick or long and drawn out. I don't really care. Tell me where Nacht was the last time you saw her and I'll go for the quick and painless one."

The vampire panted, it's breathe coming in ragged gasps, "It was in a lumber storage house on the left side of the river. I only went there once, but Nacht was there. I know nothing else…"

Ravyn looked at the vampire, wishing that she had Ivy's power to read mind so she could tell whether this vampire was lying or not. She didn't think it was… it was too much of a coincidence for both vampires she had tracked down to both mention a warehouse by the river.

Ravyn nodded and pushed the dagger down, deep into the vampire's chest, piercing the creature's heart.

Shuffling away on her knees, Ravyn watched the vampire scream and eventually die, its body turning into noting more than a pile of ash. All that remained was the tattered lavender dress the vampire had worn. That was the nice thing about hunting vampires. There were no worries about the bodies, and discarded clothing was common to find everywhere in the city.

Ravyn sighed. Well, she knew where she night find Nacht and the guild would now back her in any assault she may plan on this "warehouse" by the river. Exactly what the warehouse was for, Ravyn could not imagine.

Ravyn turned and began to stand, finding herself staring at two sharp blade points, aimed at her eyes. Ravyn looked past the blades to see the tall creature standing before her.

After all she had seen that thing do, Ravyn muttered only one word,

"Shit."

_Yet another cliffhanger, oh how I love them! Please review!_


	6. Explaination

_Sorry for the delay. I finally got this chapter up with school and homework and all that stuff demanding my immediate attention. Just for clarification, some people have been asking me whether I'm basing this on the vampires in the movie Blade or Anne Rice's vampires or some precise verion of a vampire. The vampires in this story are just my version of vampires. Most will be explained in this chapter about them so there won't be too many surprises. Hope you like it!_

**Chapter 6: Explanation**

Staring up at the huge creature Ravyn felt her body freeze. This wasn't good. She cursed her stupidity for helping the creature in the first place. She should have let the vamp finish him off, and then gone after the vampire.

Glancing to the side, Ravyn saw her dagger lying among the ashes of the recently killed vampire; if only she could get to it…

Her decision was made. Ravyn dropped to the ground and kicked out at the creature's knees. With a growl the creature dodged the strike and swiftly approached. Ravyn's hand grasped the hilt of the dagger and she spun, lashing out at the creature.

The creature caught her wrist and twisted, causing Ravyn to do a back flip and land roughly on the ground. The creature crouched down above her and wrapped its hand around her throat, putting enough pressure to keep her pinned, but not hurting her.

"I would not try that again if I were you," a cold metallic voice echoed from the creature holding her wrist.

Ravyn blinked, "You speak English?"

The creature emitted a strange clicking noise Ravyn guessed was laughter, "A little." It tapped its mask, "Translator; better than those most of my fellows have."

"Well, if you can understand what I'm saying, would you mind letting me go?" Ravyn asked.

The creature laughed again, "And give you another chance to lash out at me? I think not."

Ravyn glared and snapped, "Well, if you hadn't pointed your pretty blades at me I wouldn't have attacked. Just for future reference, pointing knives at people's faces are not the best way of saying hello, or thank you for that matter!"

"I couldn't have you running off. And why would I wish to say thank you?"

Ravyn snorted, "I saved your ass."

The creature growled at her, "I had no need for your help."

Ravyn shook her head, "Obviously you did. Otherwise, it would have been dead quicker." Looking the thing in the eye, or at least looking at the glassy lenses of the mask, Ravyn smiled, "You didn't know how to kill it, did you?"

The creature tilted its head at her, "No, I did not. Most of your kind would have been dead three times over should they have been dealt those wounds."

"I suppose you've figured out already it wasn't human?" While Ravyn kept the thing talking, she slowly began to inch her leg up closer to her chest, hoping that she could be able to execute a good hard kick; being pinned down in the middle of the street by some sort of monster in the middle of vampire territory was not the best thing to be doing in the world. She had to get out of there.

"I had my suspicions. You obviously know what it was and how to kill it. Would you mind… enlightening me?"

"Now why would I want to do that?" Her leg was free: time to look for a weak spot.

* * *

Tarn'se moved the blades close to Ravyn's face once more, "I would prefer just getting a few answers without cutting your face into pieces." Tarn'se chuckled lightly to himself; it was against the code to torture any creature, even for information. But this human didn't know that…

* * *

Ravyn could not find a single spot on the creature that looked weak; this guy had to be made of solid muscle!

Ravyn judged whether or not she could get a shot at its' head. She used to be quite flexible, but now she didn't think she could get her leg high enough.

"_It's worth a shot,"_ Ravyn though. Bringing her leg up and back as far as she could, Ravyn placed her kick. It wasn't high enough for a kick in the face, she did manage to get it in the neck.

The creature grunted and released Ravyn who bolted. She heard the creature roar with anger and pursue her.

* * *

Tarn'se raced after the female, rubbing his throat as he went; she was a tricky one. The female seemed to know where she was going, a sure disadvantage to himself. Growling in annoyance, Tarn'se leapt managing to land on top of the roof of one of the buildings, activating his cloaking in the process.

He spotted the female and by the way she was running, he could tell where her next turn would be. Running parallel to her Tarn'se leapt off a roof and landed directly in front of the female. Grabbing her by the neck he held her in the air.

Tarn'se growled, "I suggest you _never_ try that again!" He dropped the female who fell on the ground gasping for air; he knew she wouldn't run again.

* * *

Ravyn couldn't believe that this thing caught her! It was so damn fast! Glaring up at the creature Ravyn asked the thing the one thing that was bugging her, "What the hell are you?"

The creature laughed and said, "You are to answer my questions first, then I'll consider answering yours."

Ravyn pushed herself to her feet and grimaced at the pain in her neck; it was going to be sore tomorrow, "Well, what do you want to know?"

* * *

Tarn'se was surprised at the female's directness, but asked, "What was that human we battled?"

The female took a few breaths of air and said, "It was a vampire."

"A vampire?" Tarn'se repeated the word in his mind, making sure he would remember it.

"Yes. They look just like humans but they're not." The female paused, thinking, "The best way I can describe a vampire is a human infected with a disease. Only the disease makes the human stronger, heal faster, and gain certain… abilities. Do you understand so far?"

Tarn'se smiled and gave a nod and said, "Continue."

"Now there is a drawback to this disease. In order to sustain its' life, a vampire must drink the blood of other, regular humans. If it does not, it dies; a lot like a human would without water."

* * *

Ravyn could not believe that she was telling this thing the basics of a vampirism. When she had left the guild house, she had expected a fight, maybe a bit more, but nothing else.

"It?" the creature questioned, "You mean to say there are no males or females."

"Well, you could say there are males and females, but that's not how vampires are made." The creature didn't say anything so Ravyn continued, "In order to become a vampire, a human must drink a vampire's blood. Some, on excessively rare occasions, can be born though."

"And how did you kill her… or it?"

"There are two common ways to kill a vampire. One, you stab it through the heart, cutting the heart in half. And two, you can behead it. There are… other ways my fellows are developing to help kill the vampires, but so far, we've got the two basic killing ways to go by."

Ravyn paused as the creature seemed to digest all of the information. _"Enough of Vampire 101; time for some answers to my questions."_

"So, what are you?"

* * *

Tarn'se was caught off-guard at the female's question. He was trying to absorb as much information on these _vampires_ as was possible. The Elders would want to know about such a new and deadly species apon the human homeworld. Tarn'se considered the human for a moment; she had given him the information he desired. It would not hurt to answer her question, "I am a Yautja."

"A Yautja?" Tarn'se flinched at the female's butchering of his race's name. He quickly considered whether he should tell this human more and decided to. Considering the female's lifestyle, it should be killed soon.

"My race is one of hunters. We travel through space looking for challenging prey, taking trophies of those found worthy."

The female gave him a scrutinizing look, "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Me?"

"The guy who skinned those people and left them hanging in the alley?"

Tarn'se chuckled, "Yes, that was me. Unfortunately, they were not worthy enough for trophies; they were hardly skilled in battle."

The female nodded, "Well, there's a lot of humans that think if the have a gun, they're all powerful. I'm Ravyn, by the way."

"Ravyn?"

"That's my name; I don't suppose you have one."

Tarn'se paused, "Tarn'se."

"Tarn'se? Interesting names you guys have. Well, Tarn'se, if you have no more questions I'll be off."

"I will undoubtedly be seeing you again," Tarn'se replied. Ravyn wasn't sure if that was a threat or a mere statement.

With those parting words, the alien seemed to simply disappear.

Ravyn paused, listening for any sign that anything more was to come. It seemed she had gotten lucky again.

_Yes, I know, not too much action, but the next chapter will be better! Please review!_


	7. The Raid

_Holy crap! I just realized I haven't updated for over a month! Sorry! Luckily, I think I'm over the writers-block that I had temporarily for this story. I also gave you guys a longer chapter for waiting so long! Thank you all for being so patient and thank you for all of the reviews! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 7: The Raid**

"The information was the same; a warehouse by the river. It is no coincidence or lie." Ravyn stood before Jonathan and Vanessa. The two guild leaders listened with interest to Ravyn's words. Once again, the path to Nacht seemed open.

"Indeed, we have another trail to follow," Jonathan said with a nod. Turning to Vanessa he asked, "How many members will we need?"

Vanessa paused, "It would be better to scout this place, learn of it before we launch any attacks. It is possible that there could be an ambush."

Ravyn sighed in impatience, "We should go as soon as possible."

Vanessa met Ravyn's impatient tone with a stern one of her own, "We are not risking the lives of our members by foolishly running into what could be a trap; I will not stand for it."

"Yet, the longer we wait the larger the chance is that we will find nothing when we get there!" Ravyn snapped.

Vanessa opened her mouth to reply and was cut off by Jonathan, "Enough. We will send a dozen. Ravyn, you will lead. If there is the slightest sign of a trap, you are to retreat immediately." Vanessa moved to argue, but stopped herself; it wouldn't do any good anyway.

Ravyn nodded to Jonathan, "Who is coming with me?"

* * *

"You are not dragging me into a vampire nest!" Ivy snapped as she gave Ravyn her shot.

"You're right; I'm not dragging you. You are coming on orders of Vanessa; she thinks you might restrain me from doing anything stupid," Ravyn replied, wincing as Ivy drove down the plunger.

"Ravyn, no one on Earth could stop you from doing something stupid!"

Ravyn chuckled, "That's true. Well, either way, you're coming. And I have to tell you something." The latter sentence was whispered so Nathan, playing pinball on the computer when he should have been working out formulas, wouldn't overhear.

"_Is it important?"_ Ivy asked, using her telepathy. Ravyn shuddered at the feeling of Ivy's words flowing through her mind. It reminded her too much of the vampire's ability to do the same.

Ravyn nodded. Ivy glanced at Nathan who swore loudly as he got a tilt on his game. Satisfied that he would be distracted for a minute, Ivy placed the tips of her fingers on Ravyn's temples and nodded. Ravyn shut her eyes and remembered all she could about her encounter with the strange alien.

It was like watching a movie fast forwarded. All sorts of images flipped by in Ravyn's mind, some foggy, others sharp and defined. With a jolt that felt like a small shock, Ivy removed her hands and shut her eyes for a moment, digesting all the information Ravyn had given her. Ravyn leaned back heavily in her chair; the direct mind-reading Ivy did was taxing on both the reader and the person being read.

Ivy blinked a few times and asked aloud, "That's all you know?"

Ravyn nodded, "At least we know that the vamps aren't up to something bad."

Ivy sighed, "Do you have any idea if we'll be seeing this guy around?"

Ravyn shrugged, "He'll be here a few days is my guess. With luck this will be the last time we see him."

Ivy nodded her agreement, "Have you told Jonathan or Vanessa?"

"No; he is no threat to us… not yet anyway."

Ivy sighed, "From what I've seen, we can only hope this… hunter… doesn't come after us." She walked over to a small freezer next to the wall and pulled out a rack of clear glass tubes, "I've got six vials of the 'sunlight serum' now. I figured we could try them out tonight." Answering the question in Ravyn's mind, Ivy answered, "I experimented with the calcium, but it's going to take a while to work all the kinks out. So far, the effects last only about five minutes; not nearly enough time to compromise for the expenses and time put into making the damned stuff. Besides, it gives the drinker one hell of a stomach ache."

Ravyn stretched and stood, "I'm pretty sure any hunter would rather have a stomach ache than be bitten or turned by a vampire; trust me, I know…"

* * *

"Is everyone ready?" Ravyn asked looking back at her crew in the entrance hall of the Guild house. There were five women and five men, not including herself and Ivy. The guys were armed with the more direct weaponry, from huge double-bladed great swords to small short swords more reminiscent of daggers. The women held mainly crossbows, a few hand pistols, and the occasional sword or dagger. They all had on variants of armor, from toughened pieces of leather studded with metal to delicately woven neck-brace like armor, to prevent bites. Ravyn had been given another sword, Ivy had thrown a bit of a fit but she had gotten over it fast enough, and her dagger was sheathed opposite of her sword on her right. Ivy had only a crossbow and was passing out her bottles of sunlight serum to the hunters with the crossbows.

At a unanimous nod, Ravyn gave an encouraging smile, "Let's move out."

* * *

Tarn'se watched the human hunters scatter into the night from his perch on top of the building they resided in.

After meeting the strange female, he decided to follow her so that he may learn more about these vampires for his report to the elders and perhaps get the chance to hunt a few.

He snorted in surprise at how well the humans moved from shadow to shadow, intent on going in the direction of a large stream of water not far from the residence. As he thought about his encounter with the female, he figured that nothing should really surprise him now.

With speed and stealth that more than matched the human hunters, Tarn'se leapt from roof to roof in hot pursuit.

* * *

It took barely a half hour to reach the supposed "warehouse". It kind of stuck out from the other buildings by being the only one without lights on in front of it. Vampires had no need for light.

The warehouses by the river were surrounded by forest to the back of them. To the front stood docks and ships in which the warehouses would place their supplies to be shipped up or down river to the many cities. The thick trees and brush provided excellent cover from Ravyn and her team.

Ravyn gestured for all of the team to stay behind as she scouted ahead. One sniper, Vince, followed her despite her orders to stay. Ravyn shrugged it off; she knew that Vanessa would want at least one person to follow her every move.

As Ravyn and Vince neared the building they heard a loud steady thumping noise coming from the warehouse. They glanced at each other; what was making that noise?

Ravyn gestured for Vince to stop as she spotted a vampire guard at the door. Ravyn made an owl call, attracting the vampire's attention. Quickly signaling with her hands, Ravyn relayed her plan to Vince. Vince nodded grimly and stayed put as Ravyn climbed up into the boughs of a nearby tree.

The vampire broke through the thick underbrush spotting Vince immediately.

"What do we have here?" the vampire asked, stalking towards Vince, his sharp eyeteeth glistening with saliva. As he neared Vince, Ravyn dropped down from above, driving her dagger trough the vampire's throat and her sword through its' heart.

The vampire made no more than a quiet gasp to collapse into a pile of ash upon the ground.

With a nod to Vince, Ravyn quickly raced over to the door, keeping to the shadows. Now that she was closer to the building, she could tell its' design was of simple brick with heavy steel doors; nothing special. On the door at eye level, a small checkered window looked into the warehouse. Ravyn took one glance and bolted back to the undercover of the forest.

Vince saw the laughter in Ravyn's eyes and asked, "What is it?"

Ravyn smiled viciously, "It's a club."

* * *

Over the years, "vampire clubs" had grown quite popular. Basically, it was a place for all the bloodsuckers to get together and discuss new fledglings, rumors of the plans of master vampires, and basically get a free meal from the unfortunate humans lured into the club. It was not uncommon for the hunters to find dead humans hanging from chains mounted to the walls. Often from the looks of the corpses, the more sadistic vampires had had some "fun" with the humans; namely torturing them.

After meeting back with the group and explaining the situation, Ravyn and the hunters began to fan out around the warehouse. The double doors Ravyn had stolen a look through seemed to be the only entrance to the warehouse, so the other three patrolling guards had to be taken out first. Within a few minutes, the hunters were lined outside the doors.

With a jerk of her hand, Ravyn gave the signal, and the hunters burst in through the doors and began the attack.

The party seemed to be in full swing as Ravyn got off two crossbow bolts, poisoned with Ivy's serum, hitting one vampire in its heart and another in the stomach.

The first promptly turned to ash, as the second collapsed, grasping its stomach, its mouth open in a silent scream. Slowly, the flesh around the wound grew grey, then black and seemed to dissolve.

Ravyn turned from the vampire and moved on to the other vampires whom, finally getting over the shock of a dozen hunters bursting through the door began to either attack or run.

Ravyn dropped one crossbow and drew her sword, impaling the closest vampire to her. Ravyn whipped the sword out of the vampire's chest and into another's trying to keep track of the chaos which reigned around her. She could scarcely tell her allies from her enemies, but she concentrated on the ones that seemed intent on killing her. She lopped off a hand clawing towards her head and rammed the pommel of her sword into nose of another vamp, flipping the sword around in her hand and driving through its' chest.

One particularly large vampire knocked into her, launching Ravyn through the air. Rolling, Ravyn came back up, loading her crossbow quickly and setting loose a previously loaded dart, killing the rushing vampire.

Glancing around, Ravyn took stalk of the situation. The hunters seemed to be winning. It seemed the vampires here were mainly fledglings, no masters or truly strong, older vamps. She could see Vince and two others form a small wall against the rushing vampires as Ivy seemed to be tending to one of their wounded.

Suddenly a vampire leapt over the three and landed before Ivy. Ivy's head shot up and she seemed to lash out at the vampire. The vampire clutched its head in pain and Vince ran it through from behind. Though Ivy wasn't much of a fighter, her mind abilities could cause any unsuspecting being pain should she want to.

Ravyn turned from the scene, diving into the mass of vampires, cutting down all that were in her way, always looking for a glimpse of Nacht.

* * *

Tarn'se watched the battle with interest. He had slipped through the door with his cloaking on and simply observed the battle. These humans were good fighters, there was no doubting that.

Glancing at a group of the vampires gathering in the corner, about nine, Tarn'se decided it was his time to hunt.

Disabling his cloaking, Tarn'se rushed with a battle cry at the vampires. They seemed shocked at his sudden appearance, only beginning to realize he was a threat when he ran one of them through with his wrist blades and speared the other, making sure his aim was precise and through the being's hearts. The vampires bared their fangs and leapt at him, using speed far beyond any human's.

But Tarn'se was ready this time. Dodging one slashing attack, he used his spear to stab another vampire and slashed at another with his wrist blades. The one vampire collapsed to dust while the other leapt away with a cry of pain. The vampires quickly regained their composer and leapt at him all at once.

Tarn'se smiled and spun on a circle, his spear slashing through at least three of the vampires, killing them effectively. The other three seemed unsure of what to do next. One disappeared suddenly and reappeared behind him, but Tarn'se simply pulled out one of his disks and flipped it behind him, lopping the creature's head off. Tarn'se caught the disk and threw it at one of the two vampires which had decided to flee. The disk cut cleanly through its neck and zipped back to Tarn'se.

The final vampire had run off in the direction of the main battle. Tarn'se slipped his disk away and pursued it, grinning all the while. This was the hunt he had been waiting for.

* * *

Ravyn couldn't help but feel and overwhelming sense of despair when she realized Nacht was not there. The vampire master would have undoubtedly come out to fight the hunters if she was. Nacht was no coward to hide in the corner and watch.

Ravyn was so distracted, she didn't notice the vampire behind her until it knocked her to the floor. Ravyn brandished her sword and prepared to defend when the vampire was stabbed straight through the chest. Dissolving into ash, Ravyn saw the familiar mask of her alien "friend" looming over her.

"You again! What the hell are you doing here!" Ravyn shouted over the noise, though it seemed to be dying down as the battle began to wear down. Most vampires had either fled or were on their last legs. Any powerful ones that remained began to teleport away; the young ones could only teleport to close by areas that they could see.

"Hunting," The alien replied simply.

Ravyn opened her mouth to speak when Ivy grabbed her arm, "Ravyn the battle is over. All that is left are a few captives." Ivy's blue har was dappled with purple with vampire blood; she had obviously seen more action than Ravyn had seen. Ravyn noticed that the main noise was caused by the ever pounding music of the stereo systems the vampires had hooked up. The music was silenced quickly by one of the hunters ripping the plugs from the wall.

Ivy glanced over at Tarn'se, yelping and giving a small jump. Not removing her eyes from Tarn'se she asked Ravyn, "Is this your… alien friend you told me about."

Ravyn nodded, "He decided to come and join the fun." Looking at Tarn'se, Ravyn said, "If you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to."

Ravyn walked over to where Vince and the other hunters were holding three vampires, two men and a woman.

Glancing at them Ravyn smiled coldly, "Well, you obviously know your chances of leaving this place alive are incredibly low. Now, if you give us some information, perhaps that chance will become greater."

"What information?" one of the male vampires asked. His hair was of a bright ginger color, somewhat matted with sweat and blood. His black eyes looked somewhat appropriate for his oval, thin face.

"Where Nacht is hiding?" Ravyn asked.

"We shall never tell you! Our sire is great and she will crush you puny mortals into the dust and laugh as you cries…" The vampire woman got no more words out as Ravyn stabbed her through the chest with her sword. It was not a very merciful nor honorable action, but Ravyn learned a long time ago, if you didn't kill a vampire the first chance you got, that was just another you'd have to kill in battle with a bunch of them coming at you.

Looking at the remaining two, Ravyn gave them a questioning look. One of the men disappeared and reappeared by the door, trying to run. He was quickly cut down by the hunter hiding outside the door.

Ravyn turned to the last one, the one with the ginger hair. He seemed oddly calm about the whole situation. With a sigh he lowered his eyes, "Her palace is in the wildlife preserve about ten miles in, near the L-shaped lake."

Ravyn raised her brows, surprised, "And you are telling us this why?"

The vampire shrugged, "I never liked Nacht; she was an always an egotistical bitch. And I'm going to die anyway, so I figured…" he shrugged again, as if his explanation was enough.

Ravyn glanced at Ivy, who moved next to her to confirm the vampire's words. Her eyes flashed as she glanced into the vamp's mind, then she nodded. "Fair enough," Ravyn said, leveling her sword. Suddenly her arm was grabbed. It was Ivy.

"Don't kill him. He is no threat to us." Ivy was looking at the vampire with pity in her eyes.

Ravyn stared at Ivy as if she were insane, "Ivy, in case you've forgotten, he's a vampire."

"Yes, one that is now labeled as an outcast and traitor. He will be too busy running he won't have time to cause trouble."

Ravyn sighed; she knew that one day she would regret leaving this one off. Yet, Ivy had a point. Once a vampire was labeled an outcast, no other vampires would trust nor help him; and most likely Nacht would send her minions to have him destroyed. He was pretty much on his own now, "Fine, you will be released. However, one false move and your hide is ash in the wind."

The vampire stood slowly and turned to Ivy, "My thanks, Milady." He held out his hand palm up, holding a small object in his hand. Ivy took it with a nod. The vampire grinned then disappeared.

* * *

"So, what's with your friend over there?" Ivy asked. Tarn'se was looking through the vampire's weapons that lay scattered on the floor, picking up a small dagger off the floor, and then slipping it into his belt.

Ravyn shook her head and turned to Ivy. She had been counting the losses. One hunter, a young woman, was dead, one other was wounded somewhat severely, and the others, if anything, had some cuts, bruises, and scratches. This had been an easy fight, and most of the vampires had been fledglings, each probably less than a century old.

"I leave him alone; he leaves me alone," Ravyn answered, "Simple."

"I think Vanessa and Jonathan would like to meet him. He really helped us out here."

"Are you crazy? Bring him back to the Guild?" Ravyn asked.

Ivy shrugged, "He killed a good couple vampires. Maybe he could be useful in the raid on Nacht's home."

Ravyn shook her head, "No, no, and no."

"I'm gonna ask him," Ivy said then darted over to the alien before Ravyn could grab her.

* * *

"What are you doing?" a human voice asked. Tarn'se turned and saw Ravyn's companion staring curiously up at him.

He was someone annoyed how she showed no fear of him, but he answered by holding out the dagger of one of the creatures he killed, "Trophy."

The human glanced at the knife then held out her hand, "I'm Ivy." Tarn'se stared at the outstretched hand, confused. Did it want something?

"Ivy! Get your butt over here!" Ravyn barked marching over.

Ivy withdrew her hand and ignored Ravyn, "Would you like to return to our guild? Our… leaders would be very… interested in meeting you."

"I do not associate with prey species," Tarn'se growled. He was half tempted to simply leave.

"See, he isn't coming, now come on," Ravyn growled trying to drag Ivy away. But Ivy wasn't giving up so easily. When she set her mind to something, she often got it. And the alien turned and began to walk away; Ivy concentrated, trying to see if she could get any thoughts or feelings out of the alien. All she got were a few pictures of the battle and three strong feelings: annoyance, pride, and boredom.

"Before you leave!" Ivy called, "Perhaps you'll be interested in something I have to offer you!"

The alien paused then said, "Nothing you could possibly have would interest me in the least."

Ivy smiled, "How about another fight?" The alien stopped in its' tracks; she had got it listening. "We will be fighting even more vampires soon. If you meet with our leaders, we will be able to take you along with us. The battle will be very dangerous; even better than this one. We could use your help…" By all of the info Ivy had gathered about this creature from Ravyn, his appearance and actions in the club, and the brief glimpse in his mind, she had guessed as to what would interest him most.

And she had hit right on target.

Tarn'se paused and considered. He could try to find more of these "vampires" on his own, but from the way they were, who knew how long that would take him. And there was no doubt that these humans would be able to find more; that was what they did. Meeting with their leaders was a small price to pay for the information he could gather for his home world; not to mention the honor he could gain…

But what keeping his species a secret? The laws forbid contact with intelligent prey species. The contact he had so far was only allowed due to the need to gather information about the new species, the "vampires". Would meeting with these human hunters' leaders be allowed? These humans seemed to have no connection to the human "government" that caused the Yautja so many problems; nor did they seem interested at all in him with the exception of gaining his "help" in another attack.

Tarn'se decided.

* * *

The alien didn't respond. It merely turned invisible and disappeared.

"See! I told you he wasn't interested."

Ivy sighed, "Damn. I guess you were right."

Ravyn and Ivy helped get the others organized and headed out of the warehouse, oblivious to the invisible being following them.

_I'll try to get the next chapter up soon! PLEASE REVIEW! (Also a note to all my "Ancient World" fans, the story is temporarily on hold. I cannot get in contact with Amouthea but as soon as I do I WILL update.)_


	8. Favors and Destruction

I finally got another chapter up! I hope you guys like this one! Thanks for all of the reviews!

**Chapter 8: Favors and Destruction**

The two injured hunters were supported and the dead woman was wrapped up in Ivy's cloak to be taken back to the guild.

"By the way," Ivy asked, "How did that guy do that invisible-Houdini trick?

Ravyn shrugged, "If we meet up with him again, you can ask him, but I doubt he'd tell you. He seems to be the quiet and secretive type, though I'm not surprised; he probably saw E.T."

Ivy laughed as Ravyn continued, "So… what did your new vamp friend give you?"

Ivy held up the small object which shinned in the moonlight. It resembled a quarter-sized gold coin with a square-shaped hole in the middle of it with runes carved into the metal.

"Lucky. I suggest you save it; you never know when you'll need it," Ravyn answered. Though she had only seen one of those strange coins once before, she knew what it was. It was what vampires called a "Favor". The logic behind it was, should any being spare or save the unlife of a vampire, the vampire must give it's savior a "Favor". Then, should the person need assistance, information, or even have a deed preformed, all they must do was concentrate deeply on the favor and the vampire would appear and would do as its person asked as long as it did not violate three rules. The rules basically said that the person with the favor could not order the vampire to kill another vampire, ask the vampire to turn them into a vampire, or put the vampires' hidden existence into jeopardy.

Ravyn often wondered why the vampires did that; it certainly wasn't out of the goodness of their dead, black hearts. Perhaps it had something to do with their origins, but Ravyn's guess was as good as anyone else's.

Soon they emerged from the woods only a block or so away from the guild house. The hunters didn't bother concealing their presence; there was no one around to see them anyway.

Ivy inspected the favor in the light carefully, "I wonder if this is gold or just some alloy… I'll have to check it out in the lab when we get back."

Ravyn laughed, "Imagine that… Nathan was right."

Ivy looked at her confused, "Right about what?"

Ravyn grinned, "You _are_ a super geek."

Ivy glared and gave Ravyn a shove, "I may be smart, but you must admit that that serum worked excellently."

"You're right about that. That stuff will be real useful when we go after Nacht. I'll bet..."

"Ravyn!"

Ravyn glanced up and saw Vince running straight at her, a frantic, horrified look chiseled on his face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ravyn asked as Vince panted, trying to catch his breath and speak at the same time.

"My God…" Ivy gasped, "The guild house; it's burning!"

* * *

The hunters quickly placed the injured along with a guard in a small alleyway. The guild house was one of the safest places on Earth; fires and other issues like that just didn't happen naturally.

Vampires caused them.

The hunters, eight in all raced towards the guild house. It seemed that the fires had just started in the Eastern side of the house. And being there was no one outside, the vampires had probably either killed them all or captured and trapped them in the house to suffocate or burn to death, whichever came first.

Ravyn and the other hunters burst into the house, already smoke was beginning to stream across the ceiling.

"Vanessa? Jonathan!" Ravyn shouted for the guild leaders, walking in a crouch so she inhaled no more smoke than was necessary.

"Ravyn! Your left!" Vince shouted behind her. Ravyn instinctively ducked and rolled to the right, the vampires that leapt at her fling by into a wall. Ravyn brought up her sword and slashed at the coming vampire. It teleported and ended up behind her, soon to be impaled in the back, through the heart by Vince.

The other hunters, including Ivy, raced into the guild and down the separate halls, looking for any survivors that may have hidden.

Ravyn went straight up the stairs and to the western side of the house. While the others looked for survivors, she had to clean out any vampires that may be lurking around the house, ready to pick off any hunter assisting an ally.

Ravyn could hear the sounds of a struggle in one of the rooms. She paused by the closed door, then kicked it open and raced in.

Ravyn hadn't realized it at first, but the room she now stood in was Jonathan's and Vanessa's office. At the moment there were three vampires in the room, one holding Jonathan by the throat and pinning him against the wall.

"Hey, blood-suckers!" Ravyn shouted. The three vampires turned as Ravyn launched one dart at the vampire holding Jonathan; it went down to the floor screaming as Ivy's serum began to do its grisly work. The other two vampires disappeared immediately, and reappeared directly in front and behind Ravyn. Ravyn ducked and tried stabbing behind her. Though she kept one occupied the other kicked her sharply in the head, making spots dance in front of her eyes as the black void of unconsciousness threatened to take her.

Ravyn saw the blurry form of Jonathan tackle the offending vampire into the wall, using a dagger to impale its heart. The final vampire hissed and disappeared, not wanting to face two hunters alone.

"Are you alright?" Ravyn asked Jonathan as she stood, shaking off the dizziness. Jonathan nodded and his gaze flickered over into the back corner of the room. Ravyn glanced over and saw a limp form lying on the ground. Rushing over, Ravyn's fears were confirmed; it was Vanessa. Ravyn felt for a pulse, her hand coming away bloody and cold. They had bitten and drained Vanessa, and were probably about to do the same to Jonathan when she arrived.

Ravyn bit back tears and returned to the doorway where Jonathan was waiting; she didn't look at his face, not wanting to see the tears that were obviously on his face as well.

* * *

Ivy ran back into the burning house a third time, trying to help as many injured hunters get out of the guild house. She saw Ravyn and Jonathan run down the steps, Jonathan carrying two limp forms. Once close enough, Ivy recognized the white hair of Vanessa. "Oh my god… no…" Ivy whispered.

"Take him," Jonathan grunted, lowering a smaller, limp form into Ivy's arms. Ivy nearly screamed when she saw Nathan's bloody face.

"He's alive, just unconscious," Ravyn stated, "We found him trying to keep two vampires off of him with a baseball bat." Nathan groaned and Ravyn chuckled darkly, "He wasn't doing too bad until one got closer enough to give him a good whack in the head."

They all looked up at the sound of sirens; they had to get out of there before the police arrived.

As quickly as possible, they got out of the building and back to where all the others had gathered, about two blocks away in a small alley between two buildings which seemed to house a flower shop and an attorney's office; no people would be around there for a good couple hours. There was utter silence when they arrived, all of the hunters awaiting Jonathan's orders.

"We should head to the Ice Guild. They are the closest and best prepared to help us," Jonathan stated. He hunters all nodded. Ice was yet another hunter guild, and though there were rivalries between guilds at times, they were cast aside easily when one guild was in desperate need.

"I don't think you'll be making it there…" The hunters all turned to a group of a dozen vampires waling towards them.

"Ivy, get the wounded out of here, now," Jonathan ordered. He gestured to Ravyn and six other hunters. They all readied their weapons and stood read to fight. Ravyn heard Ivy call out to the remaining hunters who each grabbed an injured hunter and began to flee away from the coming battle.

The vampire at the head was a guy with dirty blond hair and a squared face. He smiled and gestured to his fellows. Three disappeared while the others spread out getting ready for the hunters' charge. Suddenly, one vampire screamed and a loud bang echoed though the air. Ravyn looked up to see a burst of blue light and a vampire was launched off the roof of the attorney's office building, dissolving into ash as it fell.

"What was that?" Jonathan asked in shock as two more blast went off and the other two vampires screamed in anger and shock.

Ravyn smiled, "A fellow hunter."

* * *

Tarn'se watched the vampires dodge his second and third shot. He pulled out his spear and activated his wrist blades, standing in a battle ready position. The vampires teleported quickly, each appearing at different angles behind him. Tarn'se whipped his spear around, impaling one. Unfortunately, it seemed he missed the heart so the vampire continued to squirm and sheik, struggling to get the spear out of its body. The second vampire hissed and slashed at him, scoring three small cuts on his upper forearm. Tarn'se growled and stabbed with his writ blades at the vampire, who dodged back nimbly. There ones seemed more skilled than the others he had battled.

Tarn'se wrenched his spear out of the vampire's body and stabbed back down, this time hitting his mark and killing the vampire. The other now simply circled him, looking for a weak spot.

He followed the vampire's progress, anticipating its' next strike. He saw its' head jerk in a gesture and he spun ramming his wrist blades into the heart of another vampire that had tried to sneak up on him. However, distracted with the new arrival, the original vampire leapt at him, its strength allowing it to tackle him to the ground.

It snapped at his neck, but Tarn'se grabbed its long hair and wrenched its head away from his. At that moment, he saw a small dart pierce the vampire's neck. It screamed and pushed itself away from him, scratching at its dissolving next. Tarn'se leapt to his feet and spun, facing four human hunters, the one female Ravyn among them.

"Duck!" his mask translated quickly, a command from Ravyn. Tarn'se didn't question it, dropping to the ground as a vampire flew over his head missing him by inches. One of the male hunters quickly stabbed the vampire in the heart while the other three ran at the other vampires, down appearing on the roof.

The attorney's office building was two stories tall, the roof flat and sturdy, with the occasional air conditioning unit or random large metal devise perched in different places; not many places to hide or duck behind, but Tarn'se wasn't worried about that. Activating his shoulder-mounted weapon, he took aim at the nearest vampire's head. With one shot the vampire was dissolving into ash.

Suddenly, Tarn'se saw one particularly large vampire walking towards him. Grinning, Tarn'se stood ready.

* * *

Ravyn counted the vampires as she help Jonathan finish off another vampire. There were six left, and the leader appeared to be about to fight with Tarn'se. Ravyn shook her head and couldn't help but feel a small bit off pity for the vampire.

Turning to a hissing female vampire, Ravyn jumped into battle.

* * *

Tarn'se dodged to the side as the vampire teleported and lunged at him. He spun his spear and threw it with calculated aim at the vampire. The vampire teleported away quickly, dodging the spear. Tarn'se snarled and prepared his net gun as the vampire reappeared and charged. Unloading on net, the vampire teleported again and barreled into Tarn'se. Tarn'se quickly flipped the vampire off him, raking his wrist blades down the vampire's chest.

It hissed angrily and swiped at him, barely missing his masked face. Tarn'se prepared to launch his own attack when the vampire teleport directly in front of him, grabbing his neck and slamming his head into the concrete roof.

Being a Yautja, Tarn'se skull was much tougher and more durable than a human's, causing the vampire to underestimate the force it needed to truly injure the alien in that way. Tarn'se only growled and punched the vampire straight in the nose. With a loud crack and a burst of blood, the vampire fell off him. Tarn'se stood and pulled out one of his bladed disks and threw it. The vampire dodged it, but didn't anticipate the bladed disk to come whirling back. The disc cleanly lopped the vampire's head off at the neck, returning to its owner's hand.

Tarn'se turned back to the battle of the human hunters in time to see the human Ravyn's arm get slashed deeply by a vampire's sharp claws. Tarn'se pulled back his wrist with the bladed disc and took aim…

* * *

Ravyn gasped in pain as the vampire got a claw through her defenses and slash her arm. Ravyn swung her sword at the vampire, the pain in her arm strangely disappearing.

Suddenly, something metal whizzed by, slicing the vampire's throat. The vampire clutched its neck in an attempt to stop its blood from pouring out, leaving its chest unguarded. Ravyn quickly stabbed the vampire with her dagger and glanced up to see Jonathan, Vince, and another woman hunter battling the last four vampires.

Ravyn turned as Tarn'se approached, "Thanks." The alien gave a small nod and pointed to her arm where she had been cut by the vampire. Ravyn help it up, wiping away the blood that had come out of it. Ravyn's eyes widened and she cursed; the wounds were no longer there…

* * *

Tarn'se snarled when he saw the hunter's wounds healed; no human could heal that fast… only vampires.

Grabbing Ravyn by the neck, Tarn'se held her in the air and leveled his wrist blades with her heart.

"Tell me why I should not rip your heart out like I have done to your fellows," Tarn'se hissed, knowing his mask would translate.

Ravyn gasped and struggled in his grip but managed to speak, "I'm not a vampire! Not yet anyway… Let me go!"

Tarn'se dropped Ravyn roughly, but kept his bladed aimed at her chest. "Explain," he growled, "And don't try that disappearing trick your kind knows, you'll be dead as soon as you reappear."

* * *

Ravyn gasped for breath and looked up at the pissed off alien. She couldn't blame him really. He probably felt she betrayed him or something. Either way, Ravyn just wanted him to stop pointing those wicked blades of his at her.

"I was bitten and forced-fed the blood of a vampire. I am turning into one, yes, I won't deny that. My arm healing is just a side effect of my change, as well as the fact the noonday sun blinds me and I am slowly losing my appetite for everything. That is why I'm so damned desperate to find the vampire Nacht. She has a cure, and if I can get it in time, I'll be saved. But I am not your enemy. I plan to fall on my sword as soon as my change is complete, if I don't get the cure."

* * *

Tarn'se pause for a moment, thinking. So, she was turning it one of the creatures, but wasn't one fully yet. He couldn't help but feel a small pang of pity for her. In a way, it was much like a Yautja who has been implanted with a _kanide amedha_ child. They would either commit suicide or have another kill them before the creature was fully grown and ready to punch out from within their chests. If there was a cure for being implanted, an infected Yautja would undoubtedly put all effort into seeking it salvation; and that was exactly what Ravyn was doing.

Lowering his blades, Tarn'se grabbed her arm and picked her up off the ground, "Where is this cure?"

Ravyn coughed and answer, "An extremely powerful vampire by the name of Nacht has it…"

"Where is she?"

Ravyn looked at him suspiciously, "Why?"

Tarn'se chuckled darkly, "She sounds like the challenge I'm looking for."

* * *

Ravyn smiled, "Well, stick with us for a day or so and we'll be going after her…" Ravyn saw a flash of something behind Tarn'se. Suddenly, the alien seemed to be thrown away from her, landing roughly on the ground and skidding across the roof. Ravyn turned back to face the threat, only to feel the sharp pain of a strong hit to the head and she fell into blackness.

* * *

Tarn'se growled and jumped up, seeing Ravyn's limp form being picked up gently from the ground and cradle's in a cloaked being's arms; there was no doubt the being in the cloak was a vampire.

"Ravyn!" one male human shouted, finishing the vampire he was battling and turning to face the cloaked vampire. The other two hunters had finished off the last of the vampires, but both seemed to be injured somewhat.

The vampire turned to the male hunter and laughed. Tarn'se took a step back at the sound; it was enough to startle an Elder. The vampire said something to the hunter then disappeared, taking Ravyn with it.

* * *

Jonathan cursed as the vampire disappeared. Glancing back, he saw Vince nursing a cut arm and helping Jenny, another hunter, wrap her own wounds.

Jonathan turned to the large being that had helped his group with the vampires. Approaching it, Jonathan hoped it did not plan to attack his group as it had the vampires, "I am Jonathan Sarta, leader of the Ash Guild. I thank you on behalf of my guild for your assistance tonight."

Jonathan watched as the creature looked him over. It placed a clawed hand on his shoulder, "I am Tarn'se, a warrior of the Yautja. Your gratitude is unnecessary; I only have one thing that I request of you."

"What would that be?" Jonathan asked, almost afraid to know what a being like this could want.

"I wish to hunt this vampire called Nacht."

Jonathan blinked; this thing wanted to hunt the master vampire famed for killing the most vampire hunters? Jonathan looked the creature over; beside some superficial claw cuts on one arm, this being seemed uninjured after battling a large group of decently powerful vampires. Perhaps this creature could defeat Nacht when all other hunters had failed.

Jonathan smiled, "And I promise you I will take you as close to her as I can." The creature seemed satisfied with his answer and followed him and the two other hunters as they left the battle ground.

The next time they would move as a group, was when they moved to rescue Ravyn and find Nacht.

_If you guys have any questions about the whole "favors" thing, don't be afraid to ask; the whole concept kinda just came to me so I thought it would add to the story a bit. And just a note: the "kanide amedha" is the creature from the movie "Alien" which I do not own..._


	9. Nacht and Eve

_Here's a little new year's gift for you guys! Hope you like it! Thanks for all of the reviews!_

**Chapter 9: Nacht and Eve**

Ravyn awoke, her head throbbing and the world spinning. Shaking her head to rid herself of the dizziness, Ravyn realized she was bound to a chair. Once her vision cleared, Ravyn gazed around the room. It seemed to be a huge dining hall or meeting room, with a large table and eight chairs around it, six on each side and on at the head and foot; Ravyn was tied to the chair at the foot. Above the table hung an enormous crystal chandelier, over a dozen candles giving off tiny flickers of light. On the table stood six silver candle holders, each with a blood red candle lit and burning.

Beautiful paintings hung on the walls, some seemingly newer that others, some seemed ancient, and one or two looked like they may have been painted by a famous artist, like Michelangelo or da Vinci. But they all had one thing in common: they where darker paintings, most involving death, blood, battles, or a mix of the three. Only a vampire could really enjoy such a morbid display.

Ravyn's observations were interrupted by a haughty, light drawling voice echoing through the air behind her, "Do you like the pictures? I had hoped you would, child."

Ravyn's entire body tensed; she knew that voice all too well, but she didn't dare turn and face its owner.

"Come now, dear, there's no need to be shy. We're friends… aren't we?"

"Like the snake is the friend of the mongoose," Ravyn muttered.

"Good analogy, but you're amusing comments won't save you." The speaker finally decided to show herself, stepping out from behind Ravyn and into the light of the chandelier.

It was Nacht.

To say she was an intimidating sight was a major understatement. She was tall and regal looking, her facial features sharp and pointed, but without a single wrinkle or dent marring the surface; a lot like a marble sculpture and just as cold. Her hair was even a darker ebony than Ravyn's, the light catching it and making almost deep blue colored streaks within it. Her lips were thin and just as black as her hair, and her nails too were painted red with black letters of some long forgotten language painted on them. And her eyes were the most frightening part. They were looked like polished onyxes; accept for a ring of silver where her irises were. As Ravyn met them, she could feel the blood drain out of her face and she got a sudden chill that took hold and stayed. Nacht was dressed in an elegant crimson gown which had spider web patters woven in black over the body while the arms remained a simple red with silver woven into the cuffs. Needless to say, she was an impressive sight and definitely not the vampire any hunter with half a brain would want to pick a fight with.

"Do I scare you?" She asked, with an innocent smile, exposing her long fangs that just barely began to press into her lower lip.

Ravyn raised a brow, "When you say scare, do you mean scare as in frighten, or scare as in 'you scare me with how damn ugly you are'?"

Nacht laughed, making Ravyn shudder, "Ugly? Really? I know many beings, immortal and mortal, that would argue your point."

Ravyn smiled back, "Well, if you became the thing that you are for beauty purposes, you got ripped off sister. You're not pretty; you're as creepy as hell."

From the flicker in Nacht's eyes, Ravyn knew she had scored a point. Vampires tended to get vainer as they got older and more powerful, and in Nacht's case, she had an ego the size of Alaska.

But Nacht smiled, "Well, you will be, how do you human's say it? 'Joining the club' soon enough. You have barely a month or so now."

Ravyn glared at Nacht, "I'll fall on my knife as soon as I turn."

"You will never get the chance; once you turn, I will have much fun with you. And as long as I feed you at least monthly, you should last awhile. Just think child: You will be so starved for blood that I could throw just about any of you're little hunter friends in the same room with you that you'll drain them without a thought. Then, once their blood clears your senses, you'll weep for what you've done and what you are. You will beg for merciful release of a death that will never come. And you will spend eternity dwelling in your little hell as I watch. Won't that be lovely?"

Ravyn bit her lip, choking back a mix of a rage filled yell and a hopeless sob.

"So you're coming with us?" Ivy asked the alien.

"Yes." It was a simple and short reply, but it was efficient.

It was dusk the day after the guild had been burned and Ravyn abducted. Ivy was now outside, arming the hunters each with a tiny vial of sunlight-serum. Most of the lab had survived the fire and Ivy had salvaged hat she could of the potion. She also had Ravyn's sword and dagger along with her, should she meet up with Ravyn during the fight.

"Ivy, come here," Jonathan called from his position at the edge of the wildlife preserve. In a matter of moments they were going in after Ravyn and to gain revenge for all that Nacht had done. Two other local guilds, Ice and Storm, had joined the cause, while other guilds farther away had promised assistance if needed. Ice deal also with vampires while Storm dealt with mostly shape shifters, being that could become animals or human/animal hybrids, werewolves being the most popular. The two guilds had joined the cause immediately after they had heard what had transpired at the Ash guild. Ice was even taking in and caring for the wounded hunters while Storm offered shelter for the homeless ones. The members of the battered guild accepted, swallowing their pride in the face of wisdom.

Ivy knew what Jonathan was going to ask before he said it, "Are you sure we can trust that guy?"

Ivy nodded, "He gave me his word he would not turn on us; and from what I've picked up on, he comes from a culture where honor is _everything_. Breaking his word would brand him an outcast and his own would have him executed."

Jonathan gave a small nod, "And are you sure Nathan should be coming with us?"

"I don't want him there anymore that you do, but he does know how to fight and he could be of use; he has the best shooting with a crossbow I've ever seen. Besides, if we don't take him, he'll probably end up following us anyway." Ivy and Jonathan glanced back at Nathan who was swinging around a large broadsword. He gave a yelp as the momentum of the sword pulled him off-balance and flung him to the ground.

Ivy glanced at Jonathan who was giving her a skeptical look. Ivy smiled sheepishly, "He'll fight at long-range only…"

"You know what this is, don't you child?" Nacht asked, holding up a small bottle with a piece of paper stuck within it.

"Yes I do," Ravyn growled through gritted teeth, "And stop calling me _child_!"

"But you are a child, compared to me at least," Nacht answered, "So… you know this is your cure. The one thing that can save you from becoming one of us. And it is so close." Nacht held the bottle close to Ravyn's face, but Ravyn kept a stone-like mask about her face, not wanting to give Nacht the victory of a response.

Nacht only teased more, "Just think, the one thing you've been looking so hard for is right here." Nacht punctuated the word by plopping the bottle down on the table in front of Ravyn. "I know how much you desire the knowledge that little bottle contains. I'd bet…" Nacht was interrupted by the large, wooden door to the room bursting open.

"Hello big sis! How are you this fine, lovely evening?" Ravyn stared at the vampire who stood in the doorway. She was one of the most bizarre she had ever seen. Most vampires, like Nacht, tended to keep their colors to different blacks, reds, and whites. This vampire however, was a bit of a shock. Though she stuck to the color scheme, she wore "fashionably" faded black jeans and a simple purple, red, and black long-sleeved tie-dye shirt. Her hair was dyed with crimson, violet, silver, with a few streaks of her natural black hair standing out. Her lips were pained ruby red and her nails were silver in color. As if her appearance wasn't bizarre enough, she wore a large, round sombrero-like hat with a great peacock-plume sticking out of a ribbon wrapped around the middle. Besides those differences though, the vampire looked _exactly_ like Nacht: same eyes, same face, same body. Ravyn had only heard rumors about this one, but now seeing the vampire personally, she knew the rumors were true.

"I told you not to interrupt me tonight!" Nacht growled, glaring at the vampire.

"My apologies, big sis," The vampire bowed deeply, pulling off her hat with a flourish, "I did not know you had company."

"Yes you did!" Nacht snapped, "I told you less than an hour ago."

The vampire paused, thinking, "I forgot. That tends to happen a lot doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does," Nacht hissed, "Now get out!"

"I can't leave without introducing myself to your guest!" the vampire said in a fake shocked tone, "Where are your manners tonight, big sis?"

"They died a long time ago, and I _command you to stop calling me big sis!_" Nacht roared picking one of the candlesticks off the table and throwing it at the vampire.

The vampire dodged it easily, "Temper, temper…" The vampire picked up the candle and its' holder, placing them gently back on the table with a smile, "Now, back to introducing myself." The vampire turned to Ravyn.

"I already know who you are," Ravyn said, "You're Eve." In the rumors, Eve was supposedly Nacht's younger twin sister. Thankfully, Eve was more of a tease where Nacht was a sadist. Eve enjoyed teasing people, but unlike Nacht, she was not supposedly known for enjoying torturing.

Eve was delighted Ravyn knew who she was. She clapped her hands together, "Oh, we've got a smart one! You must be… oh, what did Nacht call you! Some bird name… Hawk, Falcon…"

"Ravyn."

"Oh yes! Ravyn! That's it! Pleased to meet you." Eve held out her hand, but paused when she caught sight of the ropes tying her to the chair. "Hmmm… you can't exactly shake hands now can you? Well, that's alright." Eve dropped down into one of the chairs, propping her booted feet up on the table, "So, read any good books lately?"

"_Get out!_" Nacht screamed, grabbing for Eve, who nimbly slipped out of her chair and jumped over the table.

"Come on sis, why keep her to yourself. It's been a while since I've been able to talk to someone who isn't trying to kiss my ass the whole time."

"What?" Ravyn couldn't help but wonder what Eve was talking about.

Eve leaned against Ravyn's chair and placed her hand on Ravyn's shoulder, "Well, you see hon, in the vampire world I am probably, along with my sister, one of the more powerful vampires…" Eve dodged another lunge from Nacht, "So, as you can guess, the weaker and younger ones of our kind are quite partial to vying for our favor, so to enhance their own standing. Besides my sister and I," Eve teleported to Ravyn's other side as Nacht once again tried to grab her, "there really aren't any other truly powerful vampires in this particular area. So, the only ones I get to talk to are either fledglings, who cower and act like lost puppies around me, or the common ones who try to kiss up to me and get favor. At some points, I could claim I am Albert Einstein and they would agree with me just to earn my favor. It gets quite annoying after a while."

Nacht's face was turning a pale pink, which was about the equivalent of a human's face turning beat red in anger, "If you don't get out now, I swear I will rip your heart out though your mouth and have you thrown in a furnace," Nacht hissed.

Eve rolled her eyes and sighed, "And as you can obviously see, my sister is not the best conversationalist."

Eve teleported to the door, finally deciding it was time to take her leave, and placing her hat back on her head at an angle, "Well Ravyn, I hope we will be able to speak again on…" Eve's gaze flickered to Nacht's furious one, "…better terms." With a smile and a nod, Eve vanished.

_Did you enjoy? I hope so! Please Review!_


	10. Attack

_SO SORRY for the incredibly long wait! hits head against wall Blame my Chemistry Honors class! Thank you all for your patience and reviews. Here's the next chapter!_

**Chapter 10: Attack**

"I know it's probably none of my business, but if Eve bothers you so much, why don't you just kill her?" Ravyn asked Nacht who was still staring furiously at the door, as if daring Eve to come back in.

Nacht glanced at her, "If only it were that simple," she murmured. Nacht turned and began to pace, "As much as I'd love my sister to die, I cannot kill her. First of all, she has the same potential powers as me, being we were created at the same time, by the same vampire. I am only a day older. She may be a fool, but she's a strong one. Those vampires you've slain are all weaklings. You have never truly battled a powerful vampire."

"And second, Eve is an asset; expendable yes, but she has her uses. She is quite the puzzle solver as it is. And I always seem to find a use for her. As annoying as she is, she is useful. Once she outlives her uses," Nacht smiled, "she will not be around much longer."

"Now, as for you…" Nacht trailed off as a loud, explosion like sound echo through the house."

"What in hell?" Nacht snarled, shutting her eyes and communicating with the vampires outside.

"It seems my "weak little hunter friends" have arrived. And with explosives it sounds like," Ravyn said, grinning in Nacht's face.

Nacht hissed, "First, I'll kill you friends. Then, it'll be your turn." Nacht vanished, leaving Ravyn alone in the room.

* * *

Tarn'se lopped off one vampire head and speared another in the heart. These vampires were more of a challenge; all the better for him.

They had easily found the building the vampires resided in. Apparently, it was the only large structure in the entire area. It was well guarded and had high stone walls surrounding the entire place. Fortunately, the hunters were prepared with explosives to blow apart the wall

Once inside, Tarn'se split from the human group and entered the main structure, killing all vampires that crossed his path. Besides some minor scratches, he had yet to be injured. The human leader said that the Master vampire would most likely be in the center of the compound, commanding her subordinates and directing the battle. Tarn'se had every intension of finding her.

He heard a soft thump behind him and he spun lashing out with his spear. The vampire caught the spear by the shaft and twisted it, wrenching the weapon out of Tarn'se's hand. He let it go, only to bring up his shrunken, flicking his wrist and sending it flying.

The vampire dodged the weapon once, twice. Tarn'se moved to throw it again, when the vampire used it's teleporting to launch itself at him. He hit the ground hard but shouldered the impact well, and even managed to somersault backwards throwing the vampire off him. This time, when he threw his shrunken, the vampire did not dodge in time.

Holding out his hand to catch the shrunken, Tarn'se felt a presence at his back too late; he spun with his wrist blades extended, jabbing at where he guessed the vampire would be. He was slightly off, the blades skimming the vampire's ribcage, but not puncturing it. The vampire grabbed his neck and slammed his head into the ground. Tarn'se kicked at the vampire's leg, but it didn't stumble. Instead, it wrenched his head back, and bit into the flesh of his neck.

At first, searing pain entered his system and Tarn'se fought as hard as he could, but the burning quickly subsided to a pleasant numbness that spread throughout his body. Some part of his mind told him to give in, to let himself die. But his honor would not allow it. With a growl of rage Tarn'se slammed his left fist into the vampire's head. The vampire released its' bite and hold on him. Tarn'se felt the pain rush back, but ignored it; he was far too pissed off to be bothered by something as primitive as pain.

The vampire teleported away from him and Tarn'se remained in a ready pose, so when the vampire appeared behind him, as he guessed it would; it was stabbed straight through the head with his two wrist blades. Tarn'se ripped them out, gore and blood spattering on the ground. But the vampire still lived, screaming its' agony. With a snarl of frustration, Tarn'se lopped its head off, the vampire tumbling into ash.

He placed his hand on the bite at his neck. Two tiny puncture wounds were there and they slowly dripped his fluorescent blood. Pulling out his medical kit, he took out a small vial of a ready-made healing salve. His grimaced as the solution sterilized and healed over his wounds. Gathering his spear and shrunken, Tarn'se headed off, ready to face whatever came at him.

* * *

Nacht watched the tall alien march through her halls as if he owned the place. Part of her wanted to rip his head off for such arrogance, but she held her rage in check. This was too much of an opportunity.

Dropping down about ten yards in front of the alien, Nacht held up one hand and commanded, "Halt." The word contained her mind's strength behind it; any human would freeze in place upon hearing her. Vampire hunters trained themselves against such powers though, so it did not always work on them. It seemed to have some small effect on the alien, for he seemed to stumble but quickly regained himself.

"My greetings, fellow predator," Nacht said with a cold smile.

The alien growling at her and pulled out a spear, "You are a vampire," he stated.

Nacht gave a small nod, "Yes that I am. I am also the Master of these vampires."

The alien seemed to perk up at her words and got into a battle ready stance. Nacht interrupted him, "Before you strike out at me, I have an offer for you." The alien stayed where he was so Nacht continued, "I have more power here than any other being. I am the queen of this city. Whatever you would want, I could give you with a wave of my hand. Do you wish to rule part of this world, I can give you that. Information or knowledge do you desire? It is mine to give. No other can say that truthfully. Yet, the only thing I require from you is the annihilation of those humans that harm my kind." Nacht gestured to a human skull that hung on the being's belt, "You already seem to enjoy killing humans. Why not kill those outside? Be my ally and anything you wish will be yours."

Nacht smiled, but did not bare her fangs. She had no intention of giving this creature anything. But if she could get it to attack and kill the hunters, perhaps she could still salvage the night.

The alien began to make a strange clicking noise that Nacht soon recognized as laughter. He spoke, still laughing, "You can keep your offer. There is only one thing a warrior such as I could want, and only you can give it."

Nacht glared, "And that would be?"

"A challenge." With that, he whipped out a sharp bladed shrunken and threw it at Nacht. Nacht quickly dodged to the side and caught the flying weapon. She looked it over for a moment, and then hurled it back at the alien. It moved too fast for him to catch and almost too fast for him to move out of the way, but he managed.

Nacht jumped at the creature but he dodged out of the way and slashed at her back. Two blades mounted on his wrist cut though her armor and into her back, but her skin healed before she even bled.

She spun around with a high kick which knocked the mask he wore away. Nacht paused only a moment to gaze at his wicked face. She jumped back as he swatted at her. His stance now was much more cautious. Nacht teleported behind him, kicking him in the back. He fell forward on his knees, but managed to spin and counter with a sharp kick at her gut. It made contact but Nacht quickly teleported away, unwinded; vampires had no need to breathe.

As she watched the alien carefully Nacht smiled in success; he didn't seem to be able to see very well at all! Teleporting sporadically, Nacht eventually got behind him and latched on to his neck, holding his hands with on of her own and his head with the other; she could not get a good grip on his slick dreadlock-like hair.

Unfortunately for Nacht, Tarn'se was equipped with sharp teeth as well. As a last ditch attempt to get the vampire off himself, Tarn'se bit deeply into her exposed wrist. The skin broke in a burst of blood, a good bit of which ended up going down Tarn'se's throat. He was thoroughly disgusted at the feeling but if this was what he had to do to live, so be it.

Nacht shrieked and released him. Tarn'se fell to the floor, dragging Nacht down with him, and managed to slam Nacht's head into the hardwood floor before she got away. Fluorescent green blood ran down at the corners of her mouth and her wrist dribbled blood slowly. Nacht stared at her bloody wrist in shock, rage building. Forcefully taking any vampire's blood was the equivalent of rape to a vampire, and it was a sign of weakness; the one thing Nacht loathed above all other things. She watched the alien stand wiping his neck and spitting out what blood was still in his mouth. Nacht grinned wickedly at the sight; if he wished for her blood, he would gain full advantage of its mutagenic powers.

"May my blood turn you," Nacht said sweetly as she teleported away.

* * *

Ravyn grunted as she pulled at the binds which held her to the chair. They were too tight. There was no way she could get out of them. It her feet weren't tied she could probably try to walk over to one of the candles and burn the roped off. The idea sounded stupid in her head a second after she thought it; she would probably burn her hands off in the process.

Her head snapped up as she heard the familiar sound of a body hitting the ground. She prayed silently that it wasn't one of her guild. Suddenly, the large doors exploded in splinters as a vampire was thrown through them. The vampire landed on the table, one of the candles toppling over and setting her chestnut brown hair ablaze. The vampire gave one last shriek as, in a gout of blood, her chest exploded.

Ravyn had pressed herself so hard into the back of the chair she was surprised it didn't snap in half. She breathed a sigh of relief when the killer of the vampire entered the room. It was her alien friend; she couldn't believe that she was actually happy to see him. He looked a bit scratched up and she could see puncture marks on his neck. She was impressed; if he was able to get a vampire off him as it bit him, he was good.

Mustering up as much dignity as she could in her situation, she called in an annoyed voice, "It took you long enough."

Tarn'se's head snapped up, but he visibly relaxed upon seeing her, "Ravyn; you are alive."

"What made you think otherwise?"

Tarn'se gestured to the few ashes that was left of her most recent vampire kill, "They don't seem to be the kind that take prisoners."

Ravyn laughed hollowly, "They aren't, though Nacht killing me probably would have been a blessing if you guys didn't come."

"Nacht; is that the vampire leader's name?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We have met," Tarn'se replied, inclining his head in a proud pose, "However, she vanished before I could finish her. Do you know where she is?"

"She teleported away last time I saw her. I'd guess she'd probably be in her hidden quarters; vampires tend to head to their sanctuaries if threatened or injured."

Tarn'se nodded and turned as if to leave when Ravyn shouted, "Hey! A little help would be nice!" Tarn'se turned and seemed to finally notice that Ravyn was not just sitting on her ass for the fun of it. He quickly strode over and cut the bonds tying Ravyn to the chair. Ravyn rubbed the red marks on her wrists trying to coax her circulation back into her arms.

"Curious, but would you mind if I tagged along with your hunt for Nacht?"

Tarn'se seemed to gain a reproachful posture, "Why do wish to follow me?"

"Nacht and I have a bit of a score to settle…"

* * *

Outside, the battle raged on. Ivy and Nathan had taken cover behind a large pile of rubble from the explosion that had taken a huge chunk out of the walls around the compound. They had taken the vampires completely by surprise. Obviously Nacht had not known that a vampire had given her hideout away; another point for the hunters.

By Ivy's counting, they had already lost a dozen hunters out of the sixty that had come with them. There was at least a hundred vampires in residence in this place; it was undoubtedly one of the biggest vampire sanctuaries that she had ever seen, or attacked for that matter. Luckily, her vampire poison was working wonderfully, and Nathan had gotten off some amazing shots.

Glancing worriedly up at the main building, Ivy hoped that they hadn't been too late.

Ivy saw two vampires eye her and Nathan and start forward. Nathan saw them coming as well and sent an arrow into the heart of the closest. The second hissed and teleported, reappearing and knocking Nathan to the ground. Ivy spun and sent poisoned crossbow bolt into the vampire's cheek.

The vampire shrieked as its' face began to blacken, eventually falling away as bits of ash. He gave one final cry as the poison ate through his neck, severing his head and killing him.

Ivy grabbed Nathan's hand and pulled him to his feet, "You ok?"

Nathan nodded and with amazingly quick reflexes brought up his bow. Ivy dropped as he sent an arrow into the vampire's chest that had almost gotten its' hands around her neck.

Ivy watched the vampire turn to ash and smiled at Nathan, "Thanks."

Nathan beamed at the praise, but soon turned to send off a few more shots at other vampires. Ivy ducked behind a particularly large block of stone and did a quick mental shout for the hunters, _"Vampires are still coming out of the building so be sharp if you go in. Our big friend is after Nacht and I'm pretty sure he'll keep her busy, if he can find her. Don't forget to keep an eye out for Ravyn."

* * *

_

Ravyn led Tarn'se through the maze that was Nacht's home. In their search Ravyn had found the weapons that had been stripped from her when she was unconscious: her sword, two daggers, and a crossbow with a pouch containing a dozen bolts, without any of Ivy's sunlight serum on them. Ravyn wished that she had a bottle of the lethal mixture, but she would have to make due with what she had.

If Ravyn calculated correctly, Nacht's room would be high up and out in the open; no vampire hunter would suspect such a powerful Master vampire to keep their room so easily accessible and that was the genius of it. If Ravyn could compliment Nacht on one thing, it would be her intelligence, and that made her a hell lot more dangerous than any extremely powerful, but stupid vampire. Ravyn would rather fight an incredibly strong vampire than a smart one any day.

Ravyn stopped in front of one of the rooms. She was sure she heard something. Gesturing to Tarn'se, Ravyn crept quietly to the door. Pulling her crossbow out and loading it with a bolt, Ravyn grabbed the handle wrenched the door open and fired.

The blot struck a large mirror above a dresser and shattered it, gaining a surprised yelp from the vampire that was digging in the object in front of it, "What in the hell are you doing? Don't you people know how to knock?"

Tarn'se snarled and went to charge when Ravyn grabbed his forearm, "Don't bother; it isn't her. It's her twin." Indeed, it was Eve standing with her hands on her hips, pouting at them. And by the look of it, she had been raiding Nacht's jewelry boxes. A few dozen necklaces dangled about her neck along with at least another dozen bracelets on each wrist. Her fingers had at least one ring on each; some had two.

"Dressing for the prom?" Ravyn asked looking her up and down.

Eve sighed, "If only; but no, I am personally getting out of here with all that I can."

"Getting out of here?" Ravyn asked, confused.

Eve teleported and reappeared in front of Ravyn. She grabbed Ravyn's hand and shook it heartily, "Congratulations! You are the first group of vampire hunters to ever chase off my sister! Well done! Well done, indeed!"

"Chase her off?" Ravyn was lost.

Eve sighed and began to elaborate as if she were explaining to a child, "My sister has been around the world at least twice, with me in tow. Whenever she chooses to move, she chooses on her own accord. This time though, you guys have forced her out. You've kicked her out of the bar. You chucked her overboard. You pushed her off the wagon, so to speak. You've won."

Another explosion punctured Eve's words, "The battle is still raging. How can we have won?" Ravyn questioned.

Eve smiled evilly, "Nacht never expected an attack; she knew that your friends would come after you, but she also felt that she would be able to gather and organize her forces in time. That would have only taken a day. But somehow you found this place; how you did, I don't know and I really don't care. You caught her off guard. And as for the vampires residing here, they weren't expecting the attack either! Once your friends came inside, I knew this place would fall. The vampires now feel that Nacht cannot offer them relative safety, so they no longer ally to her. Hell, if word of this gets out and far enough, Nacht may be considered a Fallen Master; a Master vampire who has lost power over time rather than gained it. And I thank you for that. Now I finally have a good excuse to be rid of her. She's had too many threats hanging over my head for me to leave before, but now… I think I can make it on my own." Eve walked over to the dresser and grabbed her hat, brushing a few shards of glass off of it and fitting it on her head, "Now, I do think you deserve a reward; your big friend too. I watched his little rampage through this place; not bad at all."

Eve reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, black velvet pouch and dropped it into Ravyn's hand, "Don't open it until you get out of here. Now, what would your friend like?"

"Where is your sister?" Tarn'se asked simply.

Eve's brows rose, but she didn't comment, "She's out on the balcony on the roof. Go down this hall, take a left, go up the stairs 'till you get to the top, and you're there."

Ravyn and Tarn'se gave Eve a nod. Eve glanced at Tarn'se and Ravyn could see her nose twitch slightly; a vampire's sense of smell was about the same as a bloodhound's, probably where the garlic myth came from. Eve's eyes widened but she said nothing. She then met Ravyn's eyes and grinned once more, flashing her fangs, "I think we'll all be meeting again soon." Tipping her hat, Eve disappeared.

_I hope you all liked it! Please Review!_


	11. Eternal Battle

_Sorry for the incredibly long wait for this chapter! I finally got time to type it…Thank you all for the reviews!_

**Chapter 11: Eternal Battle**

Ravyn and Tarn'se raced through the halls following Eve's directions. The staircase was easy to find. They quickly ascended it and exited on a balcony. From the balcony, they could see the entire complex, and Eve was right; the vampires were losing.

"I see you have tracked me down once more. You two are persisted little pests aren't you?" Nacht said, standing at the edge of the balcony. She did not bother turning around to face them.

"You finally lost you blood-sucking bitch. How does it feel to lose?" Ravyn snarled pulling out a sword and dagger. Tarn'se did not say a word, but pulled out his spear and expanded his wrist blades.

Nacht turned, her silver eyes practically glowing in rage, "I have not lost you petty child; this is merely a scratch against me, nothing more. My power has not been affected nor has my standing. I have hundreds of sanctuaries I can leave to."

Ravyn shook her head and grinned, "Yeah, right. Well, if you are so _unaffected_ by this attack, how did your sister manage to leave without you noticing?"

Nacht seemed confused for a moment, shutting her eyes. They snapped open and she stared at Ravyn in disbelief.

Grinning wider Ravyn continued, "And from what she tells me, this incident is going to cause you a hell of a lot more problems then you expect. She said you might become a, oh what was it? A Fallen Master I think she said. I almost want to let you live, just to see you kicked out by the others and living on rats in the sewers like you should be."

Nacht drew herself up and bared her fangs, "I may fall, child, but you're coming with me." Reaching into the cloak she wore, she pulled out a short sword, smoothly sharp on one side, and wickedly jagged on the opposite. "Your death will be slow and painful; I promise you." With that Nacht leapt straight at Ravyn.

* * *

Tarn'se swung his spear in a horizontal swipe at Nacht as she jumped. The vampire disappeared and reappeared behind him as if she hadn't jumped period. Nacht swung her sword at Tarn'se who grabbed her wrist and twisted, breaking her wrist, her hand spasming and dropping the sword. Tarn'se felt the claws of Nacht's free hand bite into the skin of his arm as she grabbed him and threw him through the air. He landed on his shoulder, turning his fall into a roll so he came back up to his feet instantly.

Nacht snapped her wrist back into place, healing it instantly as Ravyn came at her. She struck Ravyn in the chest, launching her into a wall. She quickly reappeared in front of Ravyn, grabbing her neck and slamming her into the wall over and over, Ravyn's head smacking the wall sharply each time. Tarn'se threw a shrunken at Nacht who grabbed it with her free hand and smashed it into the wall, shattering the metal as if it were glass. Tarn'se shrieked a battle cry and ran at Nacht.

"_No."_ The word hissed through his mind like fire and Tarn'se fell to the ground clutching his head. It felt as if something was inside his skull trying to rip its' way out. Relentless pain and agony gripped him, making all thought useless as everything ceased to exist but the pain.

As soon as the pain came it disappeared. Tarn'se was on his back; his joints ached as if he had been fighting for days nonstop. He stood shakily, trying to get the pain that had been in him out of his system. His gaze locked on Nacht, who was fending off a rather battered Ravyn while pulling a dagger out of her chest. Ravyn had managed to hurt her, breaking her concentration in torturing him.

Tarn'se growled in rage. Mind tricks like the ones Nacht pulled were the equivalent of pulling a gun on him; a long range, deadly weapon.

Tarn'se quickly began to activate his plasma caster.

* * *

Ravyn swung her sword in well calculated strokes, trying to get past Nacht's iron-defense. Nacht easily blocked each strike with her arm, occasionally getting cut, but healing each wound easily. When Nacht disappeared, Ravyn spun in a circle hoping to hit Nacht. However, Nacht, expecting this had merely disappeared and then reappeared in the same spot. Nacht swiped Ravyn's feet out from under her and then, in one swift move, picked Ravyn up from the ground and threw her into the wall again.

Ravyn nearly passed out when her head hit the brick wall for the hundredth time. She no doubt had at least a minor concussion and she wasn't sure how many more head shots she could take without passing out completely. Due to her continuous transformation into a vampire, most of her minor wounds were healed, but the major ones stayed.

Ravyn stabbed Nacht in the shoulder when she reappeared, but the master vampire took no notice only grabbing her and beginning to squeeze her neck, closing her windpipe. Ravyn coughed and tried to dig the dagger deeper. A loud bang echoed and Nacht's side exploded in a gout of blood and tissue.

Nacht screamed and fell to the ground as Tarn'se ran at her his spear flying like a javelin and hitting her in the chest below her heart. Ravyn wanted the alien pull his arm with the wicked blades attached to his wrist backward preparing for a powerful strike. Nacht swung her arm towards him and pointed on clawed finger at him, using it as a focus for her mind powers. Tarn'se shrieked and fell to his knees. Nacht, with a little struggle, snapped the spear that protruded from her chest and pulled the remaining piece out of her. Nacht pulled Ravyn's dagger out of her shoulder and aimed a throw at Tarn'se.

Ravyn leapt, swinging her sword, and lopping Nacht's hand off. Nacht screamed and kicked Ravyn in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Her power over Tarn'se ended, and the alien began to shake his head.

Ravyn moved to stab Nacht with her sword when Nacht pulled her own sword out of nowhere and drove it through Ravyn's thigh. Ravyn yelped and fell, grabbing onto Nacht and pulling her down with her, Ravyn felt her weight land on Nacht's leg. She heard the crisp cracking should that was one of the smaller bones in Nacht's calve breaking; Tibia or Fibia, whichever it was didn't matter. Nacht grunted in pain and swiped again at Ravyn who had snatched away her dagger and was now jabbing it repeatedly into Nacht's stomach. Nacht grabbed her wrist and threw Ravyn away from her.

Ravyn landed roughly and slid across the tiled ground. The pain in her leg was extraordinary. Ravyn moved quickly, trying to get the sword out of her leg. It was no use. Even if she did get the sword out, the jagged side would tear her leg to pieces.

Ravyn watched as Tarn'se dove at Nacht, only to be swatted away by the angry vampire into the wall. Nacht appear in front of him kicking him into a wall where Tarn'se hit roughly and landed on the ground, not moving.

Ravyn knew Nacht's rage fueled her moves, making her more and more dangerous. However, from the looks of a few unhealed wounds Nacht was going to die soon if she didn't feed. The huge blast from Tarn'se's gun had taken a lot out of Nacht. The wound healed, but there was some nasty scar tissue left behind. Vampires didn't scar; another sign Nacht was weakening.

Unfortunately, from the look in Nacht's eyes, Ravyn was next on the menu.

Ravyn dug through her all her hidden pockets, looking for something, anything that may help her. Her hand rested on a lump in her boot. She remembered; there was a spare vial of Ivy's serum there; Nacht must have missed it when she had disarmed Ravyn. Ravyn ripped it out and turned from Nacht, trying to make it look like she was trying to crawl away. Biting the cork with her teeth, Ravyn open the vial and dumped it all over her neck.

Suddenly, she felt Nacht grab her and lift her into the air. The vampire's eyes glowed in anger. So consumed with her rage, the vampire didn't even notice the slightly glowing substance on Ravyn's neck until she bit.

The serum reacted immediately, charring Nacht's mouth. Nacht hissed and pulled away looking at Ravyn with a look of pure hate. An evil light seemed to come from behind Nacht's eyes, as the vampire smiled wickedly. Nacht, still carrying Ravyn, limped over to the edge of the balcony and held Ravyn over the railing. It was a good three story drop to the ground, and a deadly looking one at that. The sword that was still in Ravyn's leg had been like a constant agonizing pounding; at the moment, Ravyn felt nothing but the cool fear that was brought on by the notion of certain death.

"Time to die, little hunter,' Nacht hissed in Ravyn's face, hoisting her higher, preparing to throw her out.

In an explosion of blood, two twin blades burst though Nacht's chest, surrounding her heart. Nacht gasped and dropped Ravyn.

* * *

"_Time to die, little hunter,"_ Tarn'se mimicked Nacht's words, pulling the vampire back and slamming her into the ground. Nacht looked at him with a look of mixed hate and rage, but mainly denial. Not removing his wrist blades, Tarn'se flipped Nacht onto her back. Nacht's scream of pain mixed with Tarn'se's cry of victory as he ripped out Nacht's spine and attached skull. Grabbing the skull that swung from the bloody spinal column, Tarn'se held the gruesome trophy over his head with a cry of victory. The body of the Master vampire burst into flames, along with the skull and spinal cord. However, Tarn'se's natural resistance to fire protected him from the blue white flames that coated the skull. When the fire died down, a ivory colored skeleton along with a pile of vertebrae lay on the ground and Tarn'se held what looked like a human skull except for two long lethally sharp fangs.

* * *

When Ravyn fell, she grabbed onto the small overhang and clung to it by her finger tips. The sword felt like a heavy weight pulling her down to the ground. Ravyn's finger ached from holding on. Ravyn began to scream as her fingers slipped. Just as she felt herself begin to fall a blood-slick hand gripped her arm and pulled her up and over the balcony. Ravyn was set on her feet but her legs buckled and she nearly collapsed, only to be caught for a second time.

Ravyn looked into the masked face of Tarn'se and asked a question, though the answer was obvious, "You won?"

Tarn'se gestured behind him and Ravyn saw the bones of Nacht lying upon the ground, minus her skull. Ravyn quickly spotted that in a mesh bag that hung from Tarn'se's waist. Tarn 'se leaned her up against a wall and pulled her leg out straight.

"You need to get this out of your leg," Tarn'se stated.

Ravyn glared at him, feeling one eye puffy and swollen, most likely turning black and blue, "No shit, Sherlock. Not bad for your third vampire hunt; you should join the guild."

Tarn'se gave that strange clicking noise that sufficed for a laugh as he snapped the hilt off the blade. He would have to pull it out backward if he didn't want the blade to shred her leg. Gripping the blade carefully, Tarn'se pulled it out in one swift move. Ravyn gasped and gritted her teeth, but held the pain in well with the exception of a few tears moving down her cheeks.

The balcony door burst open and Nathan and Ivy burst out, aiming bows at them. Tarn'se leapt to his feet, ready to fend off any attack. Ivy dropped her bow and raced to Ravyn as Nathan scanned the area for any immediate threats. His gaze stopped on the pile of ivory bone and he shouted, "Holy shit! You guys killed her! Awesome!"

Ivy turned, saw the body, then hugged Ravyn fiercely, "You did it! I knew you would!"

Ravyn chuckled dryly, "It wasn't me. It was Tarn'se. He's the one that killed her."

Nathan nudged the bones with his foot tentatively, as if afraid the bones would jump up and attack him, "So cool; dude, can I have your autograph? Hey! Where did he go?"

Ravyn and Ivy looked around. Tarn'se had disappeared.

* * *

With a low rumble, Tarn'se pod launched itself back into space. He had left the human hunters there. Ravyn would live, he knew. There was nothing left for him to do there and he was supposed to have left the Earth over an hour ago. Now as he headed back to the main ship, he grinned to himself. This hunt would be quite the story, but before he told it he would have to wait and report to the Elders about the vampires. Tarn'se held up the skull of Nacht in front of him. He ran a finger over the beautiful skull, perfect in every way, probably because of the vampire's amazing ability to heal.

He ran his finger over one of the fangs and winced as it sliced his finger; sharp and deadly even in death. Tarn'se looked at his bleeding finger in annoyance; he had just battled perhaps the strongest being he had ever met and now he cut his finger on a skull; that was rather pathetic.

Pulling out a small med kit made for minor injuries, Tarn'se wiped the blood off his finger and prepared to apply the heal salve. But as he looked at his finger, he could find no trace of the wound. Tarn'se's brows rose in confusion, but he put away the med kit. Whatever that was about, it couldn't be important…

* * *

Ravyn sat in the back of Ivy's car as she drove her towards the Ice Guild House. She was bandaged up, but Ivy said she still needed medical attention. Ravyn for once didn't argue; she felt like crap.

Slipping her hand in her pocket, Ravyn pulled out the velvet pouch Eve had given her; she had just remembered it.

Ivy's foot slammed down on the brakes when Ravyn screamed loudly. Ivy spun expecting to see a vampire in the backseat, only to see Ravyn staring in shock at something in her hand. Ivy grabbed Ravyn's wrist and turned it, seeing a small vial with a piece of paper in it.

"What is it?" Ivy asked confused.

Ravyn caught her breath and breathed, "The cure… Eve gave me the God-damned cure!"

_I hope you all liked the chapter! I considered ending this story here, but I decided not to; tell me what you think! Please REVIEW!_


	12. Discoveries

_Hey peoples! I decided instead of leaving you with a cliffhanger, I was going to continue this story! This is going to be PART 2 of the Hunters story. Instead of starting a new story, being Part 2 is shaping up to be a little too short for a full-blown story, I've decided to keep the story as one with two parts. I hope you enjoy this and thanks _Prairiefire, L. Byron, Lunatic Pandora1, edward taylor, Queen of the Red Skittle, StormRaven333, Justox, anon, and iconofcoolness _for the reviews! You guys really keep me going here!_

**PART 2**

**Chapter 12: Discoveries**

Tarn'se felt the slight thump as his small transport docked with the main ship. Gathering his things, he activated the door.

Stepping out into the docking area, Tarn'se smiled when he saw Jaelre waiting for him at the entranceway. Moving forward, Tarn'se greeted Jaelre, who grinned at him, "I was wondering if you'd ever come back. You're almost a day late. Some thought you had gotten yourself killed, but I knew otherwise."

Tarn'se followed Jaelre out of the hangar and asked, "Really? Why did you think I was late?"

"I knew you'd be having too much fun to pay attention to petty things like when you're _required _to return to the ship. Leader Macre is rather… annoyed."

Tarn'se sighed. Leader Macre was, for lack of better words, and complete and utter grouch. Many wondered why such an ornery being would want the position of a hunt leader when the position entailed much social interaction; of course no one mentioned this thought to the warrior's face. The brave soul who did would most likely wake up with a broken arm and a terrible headache.

"He wants to see you, but you're already this late. What are a few more minutes?" Jaelre turned his full attention to Tarn'se, "How was your hunt? All you thought it would be?"

"And more," Tarn'se smiled, "Let's say this hunt was much more… exhilarating that any other I've been on."

Jaelre raised his brows, "That successful?" He scanned Tarn'se's trophies which were in a bag hanging from his belt, "I only see three skulls and a few human weapons. They must have been a challenge."

"The two humans were actually almost too easy," Tarn'se stated.

Jaelre stopped, "Two humans? You have three skulls in your bag."

"Who said they were all human?"

Tarn'se unhooked the bag and handed it to Jaelre. Jaelre looked in it and stared at Tarn'se like him was crazy, "These _are_ all human skulls."

"Look closer."

Jaelre proceeded to pull out the two human skulls, then the vampire skull. He paid close attention the skull, probably attracted to it by its' lack of imperfections. He ran his finger over the fangs and glanced at Tarn'se, "Alright, what kind of skull is this?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Tarn'se said mysteriously, taking back his trophies. He smiled inwardly at the look of curiosity and frustration that crossed Jaelre's face. Tarn'se loved confusing his friend. "First, I have to set up a meeting with the Elders about my hunt."

"A meeting with the Elders!" Jaelre barked, "Why?"

Tarn'se paused, wondering how much he should tell his friend, "All I will say for now is I believe I've found a new prey more deadly than the most dangerous human."

With that, Tarn'se left Jaelre confused in the hallway.

* * *

"My most sincere apologies, Leader Macre. My lateness was due to special circumstances that arose on my hunt."

"Special circumstances," Macre snorted, "Did it ever cross your mind that we may have had to leave early and your _special circumstance_ may place us in a potentially dangerous position?"

"Yes, leader, the thought did cross my mind," Tarn'se replied. Macre glared suspiciously at Tarn'se. He had just admitted he purposely ignored the scheduled return time, something no smart warrior would do lest he had a really good reason.

"What were these special circumstances that distracted you?"

Tarn'se reached in his trophy bag which was still hooked onto his belt and pulled out the vampire skull.

"I have no interest in how decent of a trophy you received," Macre snapped.

"Leader, I must ask you examine this more closely."

Macre snatched the trophy out of Tarn'se's hand glancing at it for a moment. Within seconds, Macre was nearly touching the skull with his fluttering mandibles as he examined it. Raising his eyes to Tarn'se the look in his eyes went from angry to solemn, "Explain this, Warrior Tarn'se."

"I met what I believe to be an almost mutation of the human race. They are known as vampires. They have strength and speed equivalent to our own, some mental capabilities and other… powers I have never seen in any other race. They have a few weaknesses as well and many peculiar traits about them. I stayed and killed one of their leaders and returned with the skull and quite a tale of my battle with it. I wish to set up a meeting with the Elders upon our landing on the Home world."

Macre nodded curtly and handed the skull back to Tarn'se, "I'll alert the Elders of this and make sure they are ready to meet you when we arrive in a few days. We will leave the humans' world's orbit in a week; we must wait for another ship which is dropping off a few hunters. You are dismissed."

* * *

Ravyn woke in an unfamiliar place. She leapt up in the small bed and was rewarded with searing pain throughout her head. Lying back down, she remembered where she was: the Ice guild house.

Lying in the bed Ravyn stared at the ceiling thinking of all the things that had happened. The Ash Guild house now better resembled its' name. The damage was extensive and Jonathan said it was yet to be determined whether or not they would have to find a new guild house. Her long-time nemesis, Nacht, was dead, after a long and painful battle, aided by an alien. And, finally, they had captured the cure for vampirism.

It had been a long week indeed.

There was a soft knock on her door. The room she was in was little bigger that a storage closet, but it was better than sleeping on the floor in the large living room where most of the homeless Ash Guild hunters were.

Ravyn called out for the person to come in. Ivy stuck her head in and entered quietly, toting a small leather handbag-like case.

Sitting down at the foot of the bed, Ivy smiled at Ravyn, "How are you feeling?"

Ravyn sat up and shrugged, "Better I suppose. How long have I been asleep?"

"About two days, give or take a few hours. You're healing really well." Ravyn heard the dual implications of that comment. It meant she was going to be fine, but it also meant her transformation may be speeding up.

Pausing she looked at Ivy seriously and asked, "What about the cure… is it a dud?"

Ivy's face tightened and Ravyn bit her lip. It was a fake… all of that hope only to be dashed down.

"It's real as far as we can tell," Ivy said softly, "There's nothing to suggest it is anything otherwise. It is very complex but I've already started working on it with test cells and it is has worked."

Ravyn's narrowed her eyes, "But…"

Ivy's eyes seemed to sparkle like she was holding back tears. Meeting Ravyn's eyes she took a deep breath and said, "One of the key ingredients is the blood of the vampire the person was turned by… in your case, Nacht."

Ravyn sat in shock. Her enemy that she had wanted dead for so long was her cure. And now she was dead, ash on the wind and bones in the earth.

She leaned back and sighed, "Well, we're going to have to find a loophole now, aren't we?"

Ivy wiped her eyes and smiled, "That's my girl. But for now, I think it would be wise to continue your injections."

Ravyn's gaze when to the handbag Ivy was carrying. Ivy breathed in deeply and opened the bag, pulling out a syringe and a small bottle filled with the serum. Ravyn shuddered. She never liked shots and these ones were particularly painful.

Sucking the serum into the syringe, Ivy grabbed Ravyn arm and readied herself. Glancing at Ravyn, Ravyn gave a sharp nod, shutting her eyes and preparing for the sharp pain of the needle piercing her skin.

She felt the needle pierce the skin, but Ravyn felt something else this time. She could feel the serum going into her veins. Ravyn gasped as a wave of pain washed over her and it felt like molten fire was flowing through her. She felt he body go rigid and start convulsing.

As the pain escalated, Ravyn couldn't hold on the consciousness and let herself fall into the black abyss of a faint.

"Ravyn! God, Ravyn, wake up!"

Ravyn's eyes snapped open and she found herself still on the bed, but the sheets and blankets were on the floor and Ivy was looming over her, shaking her shoulders, tears in her eyes.

"I'm alright! I'm alright!" Ravyn shouted, "Just stop shaking me!"

"God, I am so sorry!" Ivy gasped as she let go of Ravyn suddenly, like she was afraid touching her too long would hurt her further.

"What happened?" Ravyn glanced at her arm and yelped. The place the needle had entered at was black, turning the skin around it gray and seemingly lifeless.

"You had a reaction and started convulsing… I though you were going to die…" Ivy said, the look she as giving Ravyn was one of pity and fear.

"That means I've got about two weeks," Ravyn murmured. About two weeks before becoming a fully fledged vampire, the infected person would start having severe allergic reactions to the serum. This meant no more injections, which also meant the transformation would have nothing stopping it from changing her body completely.

"Two weeks to find a loop hole." Ravyn smiled in spite of Ivy's worried look. Brooding and worrying about a problem never helped anyone.

She would find a cure for herself or die trying.

_Don't worry, there'll be more action soon. Please review!_


	13. Changes

_I'm on a roll now. Hopefully it will continue! School's out so I'll be writing more! Thanks to for the reviews!_

**Chapter 13: Changes**

Tarn'se rubbed his head in agitation, trying to get rid of the terrible headache he had. He had gotten it three days after his meeting with Macre, though it had only been an extremely dull pain at the time. Now it had grown into a pounding, painful ache. Rarely did yautja get sick, their immune systems extremely volatile and powerful, but Tarn'se couldn't come up with any other reason for the pain. His body felt achy and he felt surprisingly lethargic, and he felt like he had been on a long, continuous hunt without any rest.

He sat in the dining hall of the ship with his fellow hunters. The long feast which lasted a few days after each hunt was a time to allow hunters to show off their trophies, share battle tales, and, of course, brag about their successes or sulk over their failures. The dining hall was one of the largest in the ship, second to the sparring room, and like most of the ship was quite Spartan in appearance with a huge metal table surrounded by simple, yet comfortable, chairs, Leader Macre's chair being slightly larger than the others. The occasional trophy decorated the walls adding some slight "class" to the room.

Luckily for Tarn'se, the feast wasn't as raucous as it normally was in the first few days. This was the last day of the feast, being that the week of staying in Earth's orbit was up and the other ship would be docking in a few hours.

Tarn'se had kept quite for most of the meal, only mentioning that his hunt had been as interesting and rewarding as could be. The others had seemed curious at first, but soon lost interest when it became apparent Tarn'se would say no more, turning to listen to others tales or telling their own.

Soon, a loud shout and bang as two warriors got into a miniature fight, startled Tarn'se and sent another jolt of pain through his skull. Unfortunately the fight increased the volume making Tarn'se wince. Macre hollered at the two warriors, telling them if they wanted to fight, they should, "Get their sorry asses the hell out of the dining hall," and take the fight elsewhere. The two settled down and Tarn'se glanced over to see who the shouting match as between. The one was a newly blooded, stocky warrior whose name Tarn'se couldn't think of at the moment and a lanky, loud mouthed warrior by the name of Ner'ma.

Ner'ma was a pain in the ass for lack of better words. His loud mouth was unmatched by anyone Tarn'se had ever knew but, unfortunately, Ner'ma had skills to back himself with. Ner'ma was known for his excellent abilities in hand to hand combat, though Tarn'se had beaten the twerp before leaving for Earth; that particular smudge on Ner'ma's ego would have to be repaid and Tarn'se considered himself lucky Ner'ma had yet to notice and pick a fight with him; he wasn't sure he could perform to the standard he would need to in order to defeat Ner'ma.

"Maybe a drink will help your head," Jaelre suggested, snapping Tarn'se out of his thoughts. Jaelre pushed a glass full of _Tal'ishi_ towards him; the drink was a potent liquor-like beverage made of the blood of an _H'imthe_ a few fermented fruit juices, and other random spices. The smell was a sweet, sugary one, verging on the edge of a sickening scent.

Tarn'se took the drink with a forced smile, "I hope this does better than the meal did." Jaelre grimaced in sympathy. Tarn'se had had to rush to the restroom where he proceeded to vomit the little he ate that day. Food didn't seem to be working well with him at all at the moment. The very thought of eating something turned his stomach and gave him the urge to rush back to the restroom.

Taking a small sip of the drink, Tarn'se paused to see whether or not his stomach would reject it. Surprisingly, the drink seemed to clear his head, calm his headache, and heal his achy body. Draining the cup in a gulp, Tarn'se set it on the table and smiled at the grinning Jaelre.

As the meal went on Tarn'se couldn't help but feel slightly restless. Giving an assuring nod to Jaelre to show he was not off to the restroom again, Tarn'se returned to his room, taking his spear and heading to the training room upon to ship. It was an extremely large room with slightly padded floors and walls which were scarred with various gouges and scratches that told of old, fierce battles. Tarn'se ran through numerous drills and moves, never getting tired or feeling that he had to slow his pace. If anything, he was getting more energy as he practiced.

"Not bad; a little more practice and you'd have the skills of a Youngblood," a taunting voice echoed from the doorway.

Tarn'se turned and glared at Ner'ma who was lounging in the doorway, a cocky smirk on his face and a venomous light in his eyes.

There was a small crowd behind him; most likely Ner'ma had made an announcement about a fight with him and the others felt it was a great opportunity for some quality entertainment.

Tarn'se retracted his spear and smirked back, "I noticed how successful your hunt was; I'm impressed. You must have been pretty skilled to get shot three times. Of course, you should know you're supposed to dodge the bullets the humans shoot at you, not jump in front of them."

Ner'ma flared him mandibles and hissed a challenge. Tarn'se tossed his compacted spear to one of the onlookers, and met Ner'ma's hiss with a growl of his own. As Ner'ma stalked into the room, the crowd flowed in, standing by the walls and far enough way from one another to have room to move out of the way should bodies start flying. Tarn'se caught Jaelre's gaze, and Jaelre gave him a look that stated, "_Kick the idiot's ass."_

Tarn'se turned to Ner'ma and glanced at Macre, who had arrived and was apparently going to announce the beginning of the fight. With a sharp bark form Macre, Tarn'se and Ner'ma circled sending insults back and forth, trying to goad the other into a reckless action. The crowd began to shout encouragement and jeers at the competitors while a few made bets on the outcome.

Finally, Ner'ma lunged, feinting a punch with his right arm and swinging his leg out to trip Tarn'se. Tarn'se knocked the arm down and jumped over the swinging foot. Tarn'se quickly countered with a sharp kick at Ner'ma's face. Ner'ma rolled out of the way and leapt to his feet charging and leaping into the air, leg extended for a very powerful kick at Tarn'se's head.

Tarn'se pulled back and to the side, bringing his arms up, catching Ner'ma's ankle. Spinning sharply, Tarn'se used Ner'ma's momentum to send him flying across the room into a wall. The crowd parted as Ner'ma hit the wall and gave a loud cheer at the impressive maneuver.

Ner'ma jumped to his feet, cursing and took a defensive stance waiting Tarn'se out. Tarn'se circled for a moment, and then dove towards Ner'ma, feinting a jab at his head, only to duck low and bring his left arm up for an uppercut under Ner'ma's jaw. Ner'ma leaned backward, barely dodging the punch but countered, bringing his leg up and landing a solid kick to Tarn'se stomach. Tarn'se stumbled backward as Ner'ma took advantage of Tarn'se's lowered guard, delivering a quick series of three combat kicks to Tarn'se's face, knocking him backward to the floor.

Tarn'se hit the floor and kicked up, placing both of his hands firmly on the ground and using his legs to shove the diving Ner'ma away. As he pushed Ner'ma away, Tarn'se flipped backward, landing in a crouch and bringing his arms up to ward off any hits. Keeping his eyes locked on Ner'ma, Tarn'se wiped his mouth which a small line of blood was dribbling out of. He glared at Ner'ma and lunged, swatting at Ner'ma's head with his left hand as a distraction while grabbing for the Ner'ma's arm, hoping to gain control of both of his opponent's arms to effectively pin him. He managed to clamp onto Ner'ma's right arm, but as he brought down his left hand to grasp the other Ner'ma pulled it away and swatted at him. Tarn'se blocked the swipe and punched Ner'ma in the face, hard.

Ner'ma's head snapped back and he gave a hard pull, wrenching his arm out of Tarn'se's grip. Three glowing scratches from Tarn'se's claws were left on Ner'ma's arm.

Suddenly, a soft, sweet aroma came into Tarn'se's head, enticing his senses and putting him off his guard. Tarn'se lost the scenes of his immediate world, confused and lulled by this strange feeling he had never experienced.

He was snapped back into reality when Ner'ma tackled him to the floor. Tarn'se gasped as he grappled with his adversary. If Ner'ma got him pinned he lost, and Ner'ma was already halfway to doing just that. Tarn'se felt a sharp pain in his chest as Ner'ma's claws raked across his upper chest, leaving bleeding scratches.

Tarn'se struggled desperately but could tell he was going to lose; his position simply dictated the inevitable outcome. That was, until his vision began to tunnel and everything burst into an amazingly sharp clarity. The heat vision Yautja lived by was not the best and was almost a handicap, but not now for Tarn'se. Everything was in sharp and perfect detail. A sudden wave of strength entered his system and with a roar, Tarn'se shoved Ner'ma off of him.

Ner'ma stumbled backward and gave Tarn'se an alarmed look. The spectators shouted loudly in surprise and excitement. Every warrior had thought Tarn'se had lost, but now the ground was even again.

Ner'ma was furious he lost his advantage and charged at Tarn'se with an angry shriek. Tarn'se ducked around Ner'ma, wrapped his hands around Ner'ma's neck, pulled him off his feet, and slammed Ner'ma down on the floor. Ner'ma's breath came out in a gasp as Tarn'se grabbed Ner'ma as he attempted to stand, heaved him into the air, and threw him across the room, where Ner'ma landed roughly, quickly getting to his feet. The crowd shouted excitedly, wanting to see more of Tarn'se's surprising moves.

Ner'ma ran at Tarn'se stopping and ducking a punch thrown by him, and brought his foot up for a roundhouse kick to the head, a powerful enough move to knock Tarn'se to the floor again. Ner'ma could see it was too late for Tarn'se to duck and he anticipated the feel of his foot making contact with his opponent's head. However, Tarn'se, in a blinding move, spun and brought his hands up, and caught Ner'ma's leg, stopping it in mid-kick. Ner'ma's eyes widened for a moment as he stared in shock at Tarn'se's strength. Tarn'se lifted Ner'ma's leg upwards and twisted it quickly, causing the warrior to be launched into the air, spinning horizontally, only to land in a heap on the ground.

Ner'ma pushed himself to his feet, blocking Tarn'se's flying punches and strikes. Ner'ma couldn't believe how well Tarn'se was fighting. Instead of having his speed and skill wind down with the battle, Tarn'se was getting faster and better by the second. He moved were almost in a blur. He was moving fast; almost too fast.

Tarn'se's mind cut out all of the cheering of the crowd and focused only on his fight with Ner'ma. It was as if Ner'ma was moving in slow motion and his own speed had doubled. His pulse pounded in his head and he could feel the excitement of the hunt and kill building in his system.

As he fought, he sensed something was wrong but he couldn't place it. In the back of his mind he knew he should be a little tired or at least sore, but he felt even better than went he started. He could see sense fear emanating from Ner'ma but he didn't pause to consider why any Yautja warrior would be scared during a fight against one of its' own species. Death was common in fights with weapons, and even in hind-to-hand combat, but rarely was a warrior scared during a fight.

Tarn'se could now see numerous openings in Ner'ma's defense and took each one, beating the hell out of him. One particular stood out as Ner'ma began to slow more: a heat shot. Tarn'se focused on the opening and took it. Pulling his arm back, he delivered a powerful strike with a closed fist, hitting Ner'ma square in the side of the head.

However, something shocking and unexpected happened. He had expected Ner'ma at most to be knocked to ground, most likely unconscious. Instead, a sickeningly loud crack of bone and the wet tear of flesh, muscle and sinew accompanied the strike and were heard above the shouts of the spectators as Tarn'se's blow decapitated his opponent.

Jaelre shouted along with the crowds as Tarn'se shoved Ner'ma off of him. He was impressed at his friend's prowess in this fight. He doubted he himself would have been able to pull off such a move.

As he watched the fight, an inexplicable sense of dread entered his mind. Something bad was going to happen; soon.

Jaelre glanced around the spectators, thinking someone was going to interfere and severely injury Tarn'se. Seeing no threats, Jaelre turned back to the fight and watched Tarn'se. The warrior's moves were becoming very fast and each blow he landed seemed more powerful than the last. Ner'ma wasn't doing well. Blood dripped from his mouth and a small haze seemed to echo from his mouth as if his lungs were damaged and bleeding; but no one yautja was powerful enough to cause that much damage in a hand-to-hand battle in so short a time.

As he watched, Tarn'se's moves became a literal blur and a quick glace around the room showed that a few others had noticed as well and the shouts seemed to die down somewhat.

Ner'ma seemed to be ready to fall over in defeat when Tarn'se lashed out one final time with a backhand to Ner'ma's head. The loud crack and tear of Ner'ma's neck breaking, his head bring torn off, and his body tumbling to the floor silenced the room.

Jaelre looked in shock between Tarn'se and the newly dead Ner'ma. Tarn'se had punched the warrior, not grabbed his head and ripped it off! The punch at the most could have knocked Ner'ma out, maybe break his neck, but certainly not decapitate him! A yautja's natural build insured that only an extreme amount of force could snap their neck, let alone take their head off. Tarn'se had only hit him!

Tarn'se too seemed shocked and confused. He stared blankly at the headless corpse and the large neon green pool growing around it, obviously bowled over that he had killed Ner'ma in such a way. Jaelre watched as a spark of realization and horror entered Tarn'se, as if he realized something terrible.

Without a word, Tarn'se turned and dashed through the exit of the training room.

_Hope you all liked it. There will be more soon! Please review!_


	14. Pasts and Futures

_So sorry for the delay… I have AP bio work that's been keeping me busy over the summer…ick. Here's the next chapter and thanks to **Warlordomega, Deshwitat's Lover, iconofcoolness, Lunatic Pandora1, Queen of the Red Skittle, StormRaven333, resinence cascade** (Sorry, no lycans in this story... maybe in another one), **and Chrosis for** the reviews!_

**Chapter 14: Pasts and Futures**

Ravyn moved through the guild house, depressed and brooding. A group was going on another hunt and she had eagerly accepted the invitation to join them; anything to distract her from the impeding sense of doom that washed over her every time she relaxed.

The fact her cure was known, but impossible to create came as a stronger blow than when she had first found out she had the vampire virus.

Shuddering, Ravyn remembered the night she was afflicted…

_It was raining; and cold… God she hated the cold. Her breath whispered in and out of her mouth in smoky gasps._

_Glancing at her watch, Ravyn sighed when she realized the others were late. Dammit. That was the third time this month. The quarry would be approaching any moment…_

_At the moment she was perched on top of a roof of a decrepit, abandoned building, as usual. "No one ever looks up." The saying was so true. Not only did the roof provide a prime view of the entire area but was useful if things didn't go as planned. Then again, if the other hunters were late in getting into position then things would never go as planned._

_The vamps they were planning on executing tonight was a new, rather infamous group that called themselves "The Wolves", mainly because they hunted in a group, unlike most vampires that were solitary hunters, and they held no mercy for their chosen prey. They had killed a total of eight people, two hunters included, before the Ash Guild was able to get a lock on them and their movements._

"_Shit…" Ravyn cursed quietly when she saw the group round the corner. They all wore hooded cloaks and, with the addition of a few sickles, would look like a group of Grim Reapers marching down the street. Their headquarters was located only a block away and they always took this particular street that led to the more populated areas of the city where they would, in turn, hunt and feed. Making a quick head count, Ravyn was surprised to see there was another vampire amidst the group. There were six now, not the usual five. _

"_I guess they're recruiting," she thought. That vampire had picked an incredibly bad time to join the club. Ravyn saw a flash of white across the street that indicated the others were ready; just in time._

_Ravyn watched the group as they walked past her perch, her gaze flickering across the street for a faint green flash of light that signaled that she was to move in. The plan was to lure the vampires into a dead-end alley and ambush them. In and out, an easy hit. That is, if the others would give her the go ahead._

_Ravyn bit her lip to hold back a shouted curse when a dim crimson light flashed. That meant to back off._

_She knew why the others weren't letting her go in: the extra vamp was surprised them and they didn't like surprises. There were ten hunters in place; two for each vamp in case one got wounded. Ravyn sighed, knowing that most likely the vamps would get away this night._

_There was a pause, and then a yellow light flashed. It meant that she was to go ahead with the plan, but to proceed with caution. Ravyn smiled; most likely Ivy, who had asked to join in this hunt, told the others that an extra vamp wasn't that much of a threat and had convinced them to go along with the attack._

"_Go Ivy," Ravyn thought. Ivy seemed to have a personal vendetta against this group, probably because they mutilated and tortured their prey before feeding. Ivy disliked vamps overall, but abhorred those that tortured humans. She was the one that managed to find this group so fast and pinpoint the best place for an ambush; pity the source of her motivation had to stem from something so grotesque._

_Ravyn climbed down from her perch carefully and took a deep breath; she was basically going to be bait, leading the vampires across the street into the alley where the other vampires were waiting. It was a risky job, but the thought of getting these bloodsuckers off the streets overrode the fear._

_Clearing her mind, Ravyn called out the group, moving out into plain view in the middle of the street, holding a crudely carved wooden stake and a flashlight. The vampires all turned simultaneously, staring at her. Ravyn knew how she appeared: a stupid human who watched way too many vampire movies and had somehow found them out; an incredibly easy target and an excellent chance for some sadistic fun._

_The group teleported and reappeared about six feet in front of her. Ravyn faked a yelp of surprise and jumped backwards, receiving cruel laughs from the vampires._

_She dropped the flashlight, pulled out a cross and held it before her, stammering, "Get back!" In reality crosses had no affect on vampires at all, unless you sharpened one end and stabbed a vampire through the chest with it. The same went the holy water and all other religious articles. Most myths about vampires were untrue, which lead to the inexperienced person's attempt to try hunting and killing vampire and instead becoming their "prey's" dinner._

_The vampires moved forward, but one vampire in the middle of the group held up a hand and they all froze. The one stepped forward, a cloak hiding its' face. Its silver eyes seemed to glow from under the hood as two dots of cold light._

"_Hello Ravyn," a familiar voice greeted._

_Ravyn paled, threw the stake and cross at Nacht, and called out to the other hunters, "To me! Ambush!" She unsheathed her sword as Nacht moved forward with inhuman speed. Swinging wildly, Ravyn's only concern at the moment was a speedy escape. She had met Nacht once before and had been knocked unconscious after stabbing the Master vampire in the leg with her dagger while aiding another hunter. No matter how experienced she was, there was no way she could hold her own against a Master vampire of Nacht's magnitude and five others._

_Nacht caught the blade easily and twisted, wrenching the sword out of Ravyn's hand. Ravyn moved to grab her dagger, but was struck across the face with a powerful backhand. She hit the ground and quickly began to push herself to her feet. A kick hit her in the ribs and launched her farther away to land in an undignified heap. Ravyn gasped for breath, winded, the smelled of asphalt assaulting her senses. She heard the collective screams of the Wolves as the other hunters arrived. A spark of hope lit in her, knowing that her guild members were there._

_Suddenly, a cold hand wrapped around her neck and she was hoisted into the air. Her fingers scrabbled at the hand that was wrapped around her neck, but it felt like she was clawing at marble. She felt her body be tugged forward and the piercing sensation as Nacht bit into her neck. Peace washed over her, but Ravyn knew all about it. This wasn't the first time she had been bitten by a vampire, and she had been trained ever since to resist the feelings it brought. As she began to struggle, she immediately became aware of the pain, as Nacht grew annoyed with her struggles and dropped the peaceful veil. At Nacht's mental command, the pain of the bite grew to feel like liquid fire running through her veins. The older hunters were right; getting bit by an angry vampire was the epitome of pure agony._

_Ravyn open her clenched eyes to see that three of the wolves had been dispatched and the other two were quickly being overwhelmed by the hunters. Three hunters were racing towards her already, calling her name, though their voices seemed hollow and far away_

_As the loss of blood took its' toll, along with the waves of pain assaulting her mind, Ravyn's consciousness faded and the world went black…_

_Ravyn awoke dazed and in pain. Her eyes were shut tightly, in pain, but she could feel the aches in her body beginning to fade. Soon, she became aware of other sensations: the cold ground under her, the arm holding her in a slumped sitting position, the warm, thick liquid running down her throat…_

_Her body and mind reeled and her eyes shot open. With a cry of horror, Ravyn shoved Nacht's wrist away from her mouth and flailed wildly to get away from the vampire. Surprisingly, Nacht let her go. Ravyn stumbled and crawled away frantically, somehow managing to regain her feet and run. _

_She glanced at her surroundings, trying to register where she was. Nacht must have teleported away from the battle. She was relieved to find that she was only a block or two away from where the other hunters were._

_Ravyn wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and gasped when she saw the blood on it. Deep in her head, she heard a cruel keening laugh…_

Ravyn shook the memory away. She had raced back to the hunters, babbling like a madman. They had taken her back to the Guild and preformed the tests to see if she had drank enough of Nacht's blood to infect her with the virus. But even before the tests had come back, Ravyn knew she was infected; the wicked laugh she had heard was confirmation enough. Nacht would not have let her go if the vampire was not sure she would turn.

Now the vampire was dead… along with Ravyn's only cure. That was also the reason that Ivy gave her guilty looks; she felt that her urging to continue that hunt had led to Ravyn's infection.

Ravyn joined the group as the milled around, waiting for the last of the stragglers to show up. A hunt would at least take her mind off of the virus growing within her.

* * *

Tarn'se bolted away from the sparring room, quickly finding his way to his quarters, where he gathered the bare minimum of his weapons: his wrist gauntlets, heating mesh bodysuit, spear, leg and arm armor, plasma caster, and mask. Quickly throwing on the armor and wrist gauntlets, Tarn'se threw the rest into a large trophy bag and raced back out of his room towards the docking bay.

Meanwhile, his mind raced with denial and horror. There was no way he could be turning in a vampire! Humans turned into vampires, not Yautja. He didn't understand how he could have contracted it. He vaguely remembered biting the vampire Nacht, but he had only swallowed a mouthful of her blood; was that enough to inflict him with the virus? Or worse, could he possibly be allergic to it?

Thousands of terrible situations and possible results flew through his mind. At one point, the warrior in his mind screamed at him for running. Killing Ner'ma wasn't necessarily a crime. Warriors died all the time in challenges.

"Yet no one has ever been beheaded in hand-to-hand combat," part of his mind responded. This would be investigated thoroughly and if he was changing into a vampire, he would be killed to avoid any others being afflicted.

But what if he escaped and was consumed by the disease? What if he preyed upon the defenseless? He imagined him self draining the blood of a Yautja child and felt the sudden urge to vomit.

Tarn'se knew the others wouldn't understand his need to gain the humans' assistance. Hell, he would have had a hard enough time trying to convince them of the existence of vampires, let alone that he was turning into one! They would think he was delusional and lock him away until they arrived at their home world. Tarn'se had no idea how long it took to change into a vampire. It may be too late by then.

He entered the hangar and began activating his pod, recalling its' last landing site and punching the information into the navigator.

As he threw his things in the pod, he heard his name being shouted and turned to find Jaelre running into the hanger, "Tarn'se! What are you doing!"

"I'm going back to Earth. I need to," Tarn'se answered sharply, turning from his friend.

"Why? What does going back to Earth have anything to do with killing Ner'ma?"

"There's no time to explain. I must go before I am discovered."

"Tarn'se, you aren't making sense!" Jaelre paused, thinking, "This has something to do with that strange human skull, doesn't it."

Tarn'se jerked in surprise; Jaelre had put that together pretty quickly.

At Tarn'se's silence Jaelre grabbed him and turned him around to face him, "Tarn'se, I'm not letting you leave here without knowing why. You sacrifice your honor by running away from consequences. What could be possibly worth losing your honor?"

Tarn'se sighed and spoke quickly, "On Earth I discovered a new race of humans, mutated by a virus and made to be incredibly powerful. They are called, by the humans, vampires. They heal instantly, have ten times the strength of a normal human, and have other… abilities that very few beings we've ever encountered have. I… I'm infected with whatever virus is in those humans. And while I was there I met human hunters of these vampires. It is possible they may have a cure for the virus… that's why I'm leaving; to get that cure."

Tarn'se moved to leave when Jaelre's grip on his arm tightened. However, the look on Jaelre's face was not one of fear or disgust, but excitement and even a little envy "Why do you want to be cured? Any hunter would kill thousands for such abilities!"

"Yes, but would you drain your fellows of their lifeblood by sucking it out of their bodies with your mouth to sustain those abilities! Would you hide from the touch of sunlight, which chars you skin and prevents you from moving about except at night? Would you lose your sense of honor and kill innocents to simply sate your own bloodlust?"

Tarn'se watched Jaelre's heat signature lower, which was their version of paling. Tarn'se lowered his head, "I would not become a greater warrior, but a parasite and bad blood. It may be dishonorable and cowardly to run from this fate, but staying could be so much worse. I do not fear death. I fear that I may to lose myself and prey off of the innocent and weak. Then, I would not only lose my honor in life, but my honor in death."

Jaelre nodded, and let go of Tarn'se, "I'll keep them busy to give you more time." Tarn'se gave a grateful nod and rested his hand on Jaelre's shoulder, rattling a goodbye. Jaelre returned the gesture and said he would open the hangar door. Tarn'se nodded and stepped into his pod shutting the door and activating the engines. The hanger door opened and the pod shot out from the main ship, heading back towards Earth.

He could only pray that there was a cure.

_I hope you all liked it! Please review! The next chapter will be here soon!_


	15. Reunion

_I actually updated faster this time, though not by much. Thank to _**_Prometheus FireBringer_**_**, Oak Tree Woman, StormRaven333, Lunatic Pandora1, Raptor-Chick, SADDAMINSANE, **and** Chrosis** for the reviews! I've got over 100 now! hugs to all Enjoy! (The --- represent separations in the story... the horizontal ruler wasn't working)_

**Chapter 15: Reunion**

Ravyn knocked on the door of the vampire house, her heart pounding and her mind racing. This was something she had hoped would never come to pass in truth.

The vampire house was a rather large one, larger than the information they had gathered had stated. There were enough hunters to take on the house, being that the vampires inside were generally young, with the exception of two elder vamps, the leaders.

Houses like these were common. Older vampires that were powerful, but not as strong as a Master, would house fledglings and weaker vampires in exchange for their undying loyalty. Eventually, once they had enough followers, they would claim a large territory and declare Mastership. Though other Masters may object, they wouldn't risk challenging a weaker Master who had a couple hundred minions backing them up.

At the moment, Ravyn was wearing torn up jeans and a black halter top. Dirt was smeared on the clothes, her arms and face, while her hair was ruffled messily. A little dried goat's blood was dabbed at the corners of her mouth and a little on her chin as well.

She was in costume.

When the others saw how packed the house was, approximately a two dozen including the elders, the idea had struck her to play a newly turned fledgling. She would get into the house masquerading as a confused, terrified vampire and use a handy grenade to widen the door. The hunters knew if they would try to rush the house with their number, thirty, a bottle neck would be made at the door and they would be sitting ducks. Normally, windows would be utilized as an entrance, but there were no windows that weren't boarded up against the elements and the sun.

Ravyn prepared herself mentally as the door cracked open and a black and silver eye peered out through the crack. After the eye looked her up and down, the door was pulled wide and Ravyn saw that the vampire examining her was the female elder. She had long, curly red hair which dangled around her shoulders. She was of a stockier frame and a square face, but still pulled off an elegant a graceful look. She wore a medieval looking dress that was emerald green in color with golden lace.

Ravyn made her eyes water on command and pretended to break down in tears, collapsing to her knees. With amazingly fast reflexes the vampire caught her and held her close whispering to her in soothing tones. Ravyn added a little inane babble to deepen the act and the vamp bought it perfectly.

Ravyn took a quick stock of her surroundings. The room she was in was huge, at least half the size of a basketball court! A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and numerous colorful couches and chairs lined the walls and were scattered about the room. The floors were a white marble that glowed as if they had just been freshly scrubbed. All around, vampires propped themselves up in their seats to look at the new arrival.

The vampire led Ravyn to one of the couches and plopped her down, still whispering softly. Some may think that the vampire was being rather gentle and kind, but Ravyn saw past that façade. She could see the vampire's face give a few flinches at the dirt and grime that was rubbing off on her dress. Ravyn knew that she would soon be whisked away by some minor vamps, cleaned up, and then given a quick explanation or lesson in what was happening to her. Afterwards, one of the elders would have her swear loyalty to them and their cause. She would be allowed to stay with them and would be made into a mindless zombie to heed their every command.

So much for kindness and compassion.

Ravyn began to slow her tears and sobs as a sensor on her watch blinked yellow; yet another of Ivy's clever inventions. Once the green light flashed, she would make her move.

"Child, calm yourself. You are safe," the female elder said softly, "You are among family now."

"I want to go home," Ravyn sobbed quietly, coughing a bit to fight back a laugh. This was too easy.

"You are home child. Take comfort in that fact. We will care for you. You have nothing to fear now."

The watch's sensor flashed green.

"I know," she whispered into the smiling vampire's face, "but you do…" The vampire's brow crinkled in confusion and then widened in shock as Ravyn pulled out a dagger that had been hidden in a sheath on her back and drove it through the elder's heart. The vampire gave a sharp, high-pitched cry of pain and shock, only to begin disintegrating into ash.

The other vampires stared in awe and disbelief. They most likely had never even seen their mistress injured at all and the presence of such a threat after years of protection and safety left them lost and confused.

Ravyn took full advantage of this short respite and pulled out the grenade that she had hidden under her shirt. With a quick tug she pulled out the key and chucked the grenade at the door, ducking down on the couch, covering her head and waiting for the coming explosion.

---

Tarn'se crouched on the building top where he had first encountered Ravyn and his first vampire. The streets, unfortunately, were empty of any other presence, human or vampire.

Tarn'se knew he would have to find the hunters quickly, but he had no idea where to look. Their dwelling had been destroyed, reduced to nothing but scorched ruins and ash. He came to this place hoping to find some sort of clue to lead him to the hunters.

He heard a very quiet distant rumble, so soft that most humans would not have noticed it. His tapped the controls on his wrist, having his mask capture and amplify the faint tremor of sound. After a moment's pause, his mask replayed the sound, much louder and stronger than when he had heard it. It was the sound of an explosion.

There was only one group of humans he knew that would have easy access to explosives and would use them without question…

Tarn'se grinned and tapped a few more controls having his mask attempt pinpoint the origin of the sound. The mask could not find the exact location, but was able to point him in the general direction.

Tarn'se raced towards the origin of the explosion. He only had a few minutes before the quick and efficient hunters disappeared again.

---

A loud ringing sounded in Ravyn's ears, making her temporarily deaf after the grenade went off. Chunks of brick, plaster, and drywall flew everywhere, as dust and smoke filled the air. Even a few vampires that had been by the door were now nothing but piles of shredded clothing and ash.

The stunned vampires soon recovered and began to shriek their surprise and anger as the hunters rushed into the house, taking down as many vampires as they could before they fully regained themselves.

Ravyn leapt up from the couch and called out to her fellows. She had come in pretty much unarmed with the exception of the grenade and her dagger. She felt nearly naked without any other weapon besides her dagger with her.

Out of the smoke and debris she saw a sheathed weapon fly in her direction, landing with a clatter on the floor and skidding to a stop at her feet. Grabbing it quickly, she saw it was a rapier, a slim but durable sword. With a smile she tucked her dagger into her belt, pulled the sheath off the rapier and proceeded to gut a vampire as it raced past her. The vampire hissed in pain and tried to run off as Ravyn grabbed the vest he was wearing a drove her rapier up, under the ribcage and through his heart.

Sensing someone behind her, Ravyn turned and swung the sheath with all her power, hoping to knock the vamp behind her senseless.

The sheath was stopped in midair and wrenched out of her hand. Ravyn muttered a curse and backed away slightly when she realized she was heading off with the other male elder. He tisked at her, his voice deep and scolding, "This was a bad decision child… very bad indeed." His bared his teeth as his fangs began to lengthen. Crouching into a fighting stance, his gaze locked on hers and he hissed at her.

Ravyn grinned back and swiped at him with her rapier, reaching down and grabbing her dagger as well. The vampire didn't move to protect himself, merely flicking his fingers at her, which in turn launched her across the room and almost through the big, charred hole where the door had once been.

Ravyn hit the ground and rolled, lessening the impact. She shook her head and quickly pulled herself to her feet. This was bad. This vamp was a lot older than she had anticipated if he had strong telekinetic abilities.

Glancing around Ravyn lost track of the elder in the smoke and chaos. Guessing that the vamp had either fled or taken on another hunter, Ravyn moved out of the building and hid just outside the opening, ready to take out any vamps that tried to flee; she still had her rapier, thanks to the death-grip she had on it when she was sent flying, but had lost her dagger somewhere in-flight.

Suddenly, Ravyn felt long, clawed fingers snake into her short hair. She ducked downwards and pushed back, knocking into the elder vamp, sending them both tumbling away from the house. Along the way the vamp lost its grip on her hair, and Ravyn quickly untangled herself, leaping to her feet and falling into a defensive stance.

The elder stood inhumanly fast, and carefully brushed the dust off his long violet robes, in which gold and green swirling patterns were sown. They draped around him like he was some sort of mythical wizard. Ravyn still had no idea why vampires dressed as strangely as they did. Maybe the virus screwed with their minds and fashion-sense as well as their bodies.

The elder considered her for a moment, then grinned, baring his fangs, "Well, well… this is something one does not see everyday; a changing hunter." He began to circle her with long careful strides, moving to the right. "It's strange though," he commented, sounding inquisitive, "Strange that one in your unique position would launch such attacks. This is not the way to gain a high standing."

"I will fall on my knife as soon as I turn," Ravyn growled, turning to keep him in front of her.

The vampire sighed, "Pity, suicidal like the rest… One of yours could get very powerful should you let yourself turn."

Ravyn snorted, "Luckily, we're smarter than that. We'd rather die than become a diseased monstrosity like you." That set him off.

The vampire swung his arm out, and Ravyn dropped to the ground as the air above her hummed with energy. She knew that the telekinesis vampires had was localized, so all she had to do was stay out of the way… kind of like dodging bullets, with the same dismal success rate.

An invisible hand grabbed her ankle and yanked it out from under her. Ravyn fell back but managed to catch herself on her elbows, preventing her head from cracking into the pavement. She felt herself being dragged towards the vampire and scrabbled against the ground for a handhold.

The vampire was so engrossed in dragging Ravyn to him that when she was in range, a quick swipe with the rapier cut a shallow line across the vamp's face. Though the wound was not enough to cause any serious injury, it was enough to break the hold he had on her.

Ravyn jumped back to feet and swung the rapier in a downward swipe. The elder brought his arm up and parried the move, telekinetically shielding his arm so the rapier's blade bounced off. Ravyn tried a quick jab, but that too was blocked. Move after move was deflected and Ravyn began to curse mentally. As long as the elder was on the defensive, she was safe. However, she would tire soon; he would not.

In a flash the elder teleported and Ravyn spun and lashed out but was hit in the gut with another telekinetic blast, launching her backwards. Before she could move, she felt herself being lifted and thrown. Instinctively she curled into a ball for protection, but the impact against the unyielding ground still rattled her teeth and knocked the wind out of her. With a dull thump Ravyn hit the curb and rolled over it, skidding to a stop a few feet from the building across from the vampire house.

The elder approached slowly, taking his time. Ravyn still had her rapier but it was no more helpful than a stick would be. Falling back into a defensive posture, she glared at the elder who began to laugh, "You just keep fighting don't you? Well, I must say this is the most fun I've had in ages…" As the elder continued to talk, Ravyn's attention was caught by a flicker in the air, a small distortion that seemed to drop from the sky itself and land behind the vampire.

By the time the elder realized Ravyn wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to him, it was too late. Twin blades, with razor, serrated edges burst through his chest. Blood splattered Ravyn in the face and she winced at the coolness of it. The elder's mouth was open in a wide O and there was a crunching sound as the blades turned and cut out his heart. Fire raced along his body, which quickly became nothing but a pile of violet robes covered in a fine black ash.

Ravyn looked up to see blue sparks flash as Tarn'se appeared in front of her. Grinning and shaking her head, Ravyn laughed, "How is it that every time I'm in trouble, you show up to sort things out?"

Tarn'se gave no sign that he heard her words, merely stepping closer and speaking, "I am in need of your aid."

Ravyn's brows creased in confusion, "What?"

Tarn'se seemed to pause as if he were nervous or embarrassed. In the end he hung his head and repeated, "I need your help, Ravyn."

"My help?" Ravyn felt completely lost and also a bit wary. This guy needed help? If there was something out there that he couldn't defeat, how the hell could _she_ possibly do anything to aid him? "What for? Is there something coming after you?"

Tarn'se laughed, but even Ravyn could tell the laugh was hollow, "Having any being in the universe trying to kill be would be better than this."

Ravyn only grew more confused, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Tarn'se's head rose and Ravyn could feel his staring at her through the dark lenses of the mask he wore. Then he spoke softly, "I'm tuning into one of them; I'm turning into a vampire…"

_Not much happened, I know, but Chapter 16 will be here soon! Please review!_


	16. Good News and Bad News

_Wow! Another update in a week! I'm so proud of myself. If only I could find the work ethic and attention span to do this all the time! Oooo, look, a bug! (as you can see, REALLY short attention span) . Thanks to_**_ ben revell_**_**, Oak Tree Woman, shade StormRaven333, Lunatic Pandora1, Raptor-Chick, Prairiefire, **and** L.Byron **for the reviews! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 16: Good News and Bad News**

Ravyn blinked, "What?"

"I'm turning into a vampire," Tarn'se repeated.

Ravyn shook her head, shock slowing her thoughts, "No, it's not possible… the vampire virus infects humans… it doesn't take hold in other species."

"How do you know?" Tarn'se questioned sharply

"Ivy tested it! The virus isn't compatible with any other cells but humans. Hell, even monkeys can't be vamps. There is no way you could get it… it's impossible," ravyn said smoothly.

Tarn'se tilted his head, "Has she tested the virus against _my _species?"

"N..n..no," Ravyn stuttered, "but that's beside the point. You can't possibly…"

Tarn'se growled angrily and snarled, "Then you can't know for sure!"

Ravyn glared, getting aggravated. It was bad enough for her to be Turning without some paranoid alien thinking he had the virus too, "Oh? And how are you so sure you're Turning?

There was a long pause and Tarn'se spoke softly, "I killed one of my own, beheaded him, with a simple hit to the head. None of my kind can do that…" Tarn'se paused again remembering when he was on his ship when he had cut himself. Holding out his hand, he lifted his blood stained wrist blades and cut a shallow wound across his left palm. Ravyn watched in amazement as the wound began to close also immediately; it wasn't as fast as a full vampire could heal, but it was pretty damn close.

Ravyn put her hand over her mouth, "Oh God… I'm guessing even your kind doesn't heal that fast." Tarn'se shook his head and Ravyn began to shake her head, "But how did you get it? You'd have to be fed the blood of a vampire…" Glancing up, Ravyn shook her head, faster this time, "Hell, no… not Nacht… she didn't… she wouldn't…"

"Before I found you in Nacht's dwelling, I had battled her. At one point she knocked my mask off and bit me… I bit her back."

Ravyn stared at him. That _dumb-ass!_ How could he do something so _stupid_? This alien with his lasers and spaceships and "superior intellect" actually bit a vampire in retaliation?

Ravyn sighed in defeat, "I can't help you."

Tarn'se mask pulled back sharply, "Why not?"

Ravyn felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes as the thought of her own impending doom rose. She struggled to hold them back and muttered angrily, "Damn it, if I could help you, I could help myself!"

Tarn'se simply stared at her for a few moments, whether confused by her words or tears Ravyn couldn't tell. Finally he asked, "What do you mean, you can't help yourself?"

Ravyn sucked in a deep breath but it only made the tightening feeling in her throat get worse, "We have the cure… but we killed the key to it… we need Nacht's blood, but she's dead." Ravyn quickly wiped away the tears that ran down her cheeks, "The whole cure freakin' worthless without Nacht's blood."

"Could there be another solution, another cure?"

Ravyn sniffed and tried to regain her composure, "Who knows. If there is, I had better find it fast. I've got a week, maybe two before I completely Turn. You only drank the blood a week ago. You might be in the Turning stages long enough to…" Ravyn trailed off when a confusing thought hit her, "Wait… how long since you bit Nacht?"

"About one of your weeks, maybe a little more."

Ravyn shook her head, "That can't be right… show me your hand again." Ravyn looked closely at his hand to see the cut was almost gone, with only a faint line left. "That's not right," she said, pointing to the cut, "A symptom _that_ extreme only starts occurring in the late second or early third month of the Turning. Turning into a vampire is a gradual process; it takes about three months, give or take a few weeks. You shouldn't be able to heal like that for at least another month, if not more." Ravyn really didn't like where this was going, "Whatever's going on, I think you should see Ivy immediately."

"What can she do?" Though Tarn'se's words were beings translated through his mask, Ravyn picked up a hint of suspicion behind them.

"She'll take a blood sample and see what's going on with you. Hell, if you're _really_ lucky, the blood might only be giving you some after effects."

Tarn'se growled, "A blood sample? And how am I to know that you won't just hand that over to your human authorities, the same ones that have been trying to capture my kind for many years?"

"Lighten up, E.T." Ravyn snapped, "Do you really think we care about you guys?" She gestured behind her, at the vampire house, "We are our own authorities. Whatever sample we take, we will dispose of. I give you my word on that."

Tarn'se was quite for a moment, "If you do not care about my kind, why are you aiding me?"

"'Cause no one deserves to be Turned into a vamp against their will. Plus, I owe you one for saving my ass against Nacht. Now, let's get moving, shall we? Our temporary headquarters is pretty close by."

---

"Hey Ravyn, how'd the raid go?" Ivy asked, typing something on her laptop. When the Ash Guild House burned, Ivy's underground lab was one of the few things that hadn't been completely destroyed. Before heading off to the Ice Guild, Ivy had gathered what supplies she could and brought them with her. Now, she had her own miniature lab set up in her bedroom. It wasn't much, consisting of her laptop, a small lab station with a Bunsen burner and few test tubes, a microscope, and a few other random tools scattered about, but it was functional. A smaller adjoining room was attached to the main one, which Ivy used for general storage of chemicals and the like.

"Fine," Ravyn sighed, holding the door open for Tarn'se, shutting and locking it behind him. He had gotten through the house unseen easily due to his little cloaking devise. Damn, Ravyn really wanted one of those…

"I've been working with the cure and experimenting with a few chemicals, though I haven't much… woah!" Ivy jumped in her chair and nearly knocked over a set of test tubes when Tarn'se instantly appeared a few feet away from her. She scrambled to grab the tubes before they could fall. "Damn it! Next time, tell me when he's around! Jeez, you're gonna give me a heart attack!" Ivy barked at Ravyn. Tarn'se made the hissing rattle that was his version of a laugh, when a loud yelp came from the adjoining room.

Ivy looked over and shouted, "Nathan, get the hell out of there before you blow something up!"

Nathan's voice called from the other room, "Um… Ivy… is it bad when Nitric Acid comes in contact with copper?"

Ivy's face blanched, "Holy hell! Nathan you idiot! Excuse me…" Ivy bolted for the storage room as Nathan raced out of it. From Ivy's curses Ravyn guessed whatever Nathan did wasn't a good thing.

"What's up Ravyn? Hey! You're back! We though you were gone for good!" Nathan said excitedly when he spotted Tarn'se who was lounging by the door. Nathan seemed to have decided to idolize the alien hunter soon after Nacht's death. Ravyn quietly prayed to whatever gods there were that Nathan did not ask Tarn'se for an autograph.

Attempting to steer the conversation away from Tarn'se, Ravyn gestured to the storage room, "So… what did you do back there?" Another curse and some banging came from the room.

"Well, I was reading on of Ivy's chemistry books and it said that Nitric Acid reacts with copper and, from the picture in there, the reaction looked pretty cool. So, I took one of those beakers Ivy had back there, poured in some Nitric acid and dropped a penny in it."

"And…" Ravyn prompted.

"It… uh… turned neon green and started belching this rust colored smoke…"

"Poisonous rust colored smoke!" Ivy shrieked from the other room. She marched out looking disheveled and extremely pissed, "Nathan, if you so much as touch any more chemicals, I'll go into you're head and make you permanently believe that you're a sixteen year old drama queen with a fetish for leather! Thank god there was a vent that went outside in there!" Nathan smiled sheepishly and quickly got out of Ivy's way.

"So," Ivy ran her fingers through her hair and looked to Ravyn, her gaze flickering to Tarn'se, "What brings him?"

Ravyn bit her lip, "He has a bit of a problem…" Ivy raised her brows in question and Ravyn continued, "He might have been contaminated with the vamp virus."

Ivy raised one brow, "The vamp virus isn't compatible with non-human species."

Ravyn snorted, "Tell that to his buddy he accidentally decapitated with his bare hands." Ravyn ignored Nathan as he murmured "_sweet"_ and looked at Tarn'se with renewed awe.

"Well," Ivy said calmly, "there is only one way to find out for sure." Ivy walked towards a desk and opened a drawer, murmuring, "I know I have a syringe around here somewhere…"

"There is no need for one," Tarn'se growled, holding up a rather large syringe of a strange alien make. Inside Ravyn glimpsed some glowing green liquid. She winced at the size of the needle on the syringe; jabbing himself with that had to hurt.

"Oh…" Ivy said softly as she reached out, took the syringe from the reluctant alien, and moved over to her microscope. Placing a few drops of blood on a slide, Ivy leaned in and began to scrutinize the sample carefully, looking skeptical.

She eyes narrowed, then widened as she gasped, "When was he infected?"

"About a week ago," Ravyn answered, not liking the look on Ivy's face.

"This is very bad," Ivy said shaking her head and looking scared, "It looks as though the virus has accelerated. Hell, if it keeps going at this rate, he'll be a full fledged vamp in two weeks tops, most likely less."

Tarn'se's head jerked back sharply and a soft rattle came from him. Ravyn couldn't help but pity him. He was in the same situation as her.

"Can't he use the cure?" Nathan asked flipping through one of Ivy's notebooks.

"He was infected by Nacht too," Ravyn answered, "Damn it!" She slammed her fist down on one of the metal lab tables angrily, "Why does the blood have to be specific?"

"Perhaps we could use the blood of the vampire that changed Nacht… it might have a stronger effect," Ivy suggested, "The only problem is we have no clue who that vampire was or if it's still alive."

"What of the other vampires made by Nacht?" Tarn'se asked.

Ivy shook her head, "Good guess, but we've already tried it. It seems to have some effect, but nothing permanent."

As they continued to suggest possible ideas, Nathan said, "Hey, I've got an idea!" He was completely ignored. After a few minutes of trying to interrupt, he ended up raising his hand as if he was in school, waiting with a patient smile on his face.

Ivy glanced in his direction, rolled her eyes, and asked, "Yes, Nathan?"

"Why don't you ask Eve?" At the blank looks he received, Nathan elaborated, "Eve is Nacht's twin sister right? She looks exactly like her so she had to have the same blood as Nacht when she was human, and they were both changed by the same vampire. Wouldn't she have the same blood as Nacht?"

The group stared at Nathan in shock. Ivy murmured quietly "That could work… that very well could work."

Ravyn leapt over to Nathan and hugged him tightly in an uncharacteristic display of affection, "I can't believe an idiot like you could come up with something so brilliant!" Ravyn said, grinning widely at him. Nathan seemed surprised, but proud all the same.

"Where is Eve?" Tarn'se asked, his voice sharp and quick with anxiousness caused by Nathan's stroke of brilliance.

Ravyn looked at Ivy who returned her gaze with a blank look.

"Aw, crap…" Ravyn grumbled.

Who knew where Eve could be?

---

Aboard the Yautja ship, Jaelre stood nervously as the final ship arrived and docked with his clan's. The main docking bay was a large empty room with a bulky door that would open when a ship would dock. At the moment the normally roomy space was completely packed with every Yautja that was present on the ship.

Tarn'se's desertion had not only confused, but raised the suspicions of most of the warriors on board. Murmured questions and accusations flew back in forth, the most common being, "Why did he run off?" and "How did he behead Nerma?" The recent events in the training hall had raced around the ship at lightning speed and had been exaggerated beyond belief. Even those that had been present were beginning to believe the bizarre tales.

Leader Macre stood at the docking entrance, looking like his usual stern, grumpy self. However, if one were to look him in the eyes they could see the many concerns and fears that raced through his head every second.

There was a dull thud and the ship docked completely and a light hiss as the doors of the docking bay opened wide revealing the visitors. The group of five Yautja walked onto the ship with careful, measured strides, radiating an aura of power and intimidation, especially the one at the head of the group.

Macre walked stiffly up to the leader of the group and shook his shoulder in greeting. The warrior was rather tall and thin for a Yautja, but it would be surprising if a single warrior on the ship would willingly fight the warrior, Macre included. The tall Yautja was about as close to a celebrity as a Yautja warrior could get.

"Greetings, Arbitrator Far'hnde," Macre said gruffly.

"And greetings to you, Leader Macre," Far'hnde replied, returning the shoulder-shake greeting. Lowering his voice, Far'hnde murmured, "I heard that you have a problem with a warrior?"

Macre's lower mandibles tightened, the equivalent of a human biting his lip nervously, "The problem is more complicated than what I told you before." Glancing around at his clan who weren't even trying to hide the fact they were straining their ears to hear the conversation, "It would be best for us to continue this in private."

Far'hnde gave a sharp nod and gestured to his four fellows who dispersed amongst the crowd, greeting old fellows amongst the group. Following the two leaders, the rest of the clan filed out of the bay until only Jaelre was left.

"_This is bad,"_ Jaelre thought. With an Arbitrator involved, especially one of Far'hnde's prowess, it was very possible that Tarn'se would have some company very soon. If Macre and Far'hnde came to the conclusion Tarn'se ran for an ill reason, which was likely, they would go after him immediately. And if Tarn'se resisted, also very likely, it was doubtful that Far'hnde would hesitate to injure or even kill him.

Jaelre stood in the bay as minutes passed by, trying to think of the best way to aid his friend. Deciding, Jaelre raced out of the bay and hoped he could find Macre in a good mood.

_I hope you liked it! Please review!_


	17. Eve's Challenge

_I'm on a roll with more frequent updates! Here's the next one! Thanks to __**Oak Tree Woman, StormRaven333, Lunatic Pandora1, Raptor-Chick, juju, **and **ben revell** for the reviews!_

**Chapter 17: Eve's Challenge**

Ravyn paced back and forth in the lab, trying to think of any place Eve could possibly be. It would take far too long to find Eve using their regular methods: alerting other guilds and beating the crap out of weaker vampires.

"What about Nacht's house?" Nathan lounged on one of the random chairs placed in the lab. His brows lifted curiously as his head moved back and forth, following Ravyn's pacing.

"Nah," Ravyn shook her head, "When I last saw Eve, she was raiding Nacht's bedroom and it looked like she was leaving for good."

"Raiding Nacht's bedroom?" Nathan asked laughing. Ravyn nodded and gave a small smile. Eve was an opportunist.

"There are no records of her having any other dwelling besides Nacht's house," Ivy said, scrolling down through a document on her laptop. "It seems Eve has always stayed with Nacht since they were Turned."

Nathan craned his head to peer at the computer screen, "Why would Eve stay with Nacht if she hated her so much."

Ravyn shrugged, "She said that Nacht had too much power and influence for her to run away easily; plus, it wasn't like Eve had it tough were she was. She just had to put up with Nacht occasionally."

"Still, I wonder why Nacht kept her there; it's rare to find two Masters that powerful ruling over the same territory," Nathan commented.

Ravyn paused and said thoughtfully, "Perhaps Nacht thought she was the one running the show when, in reality, she was the puppet."

"You mean… Eve's the more powerful one? I thought Nacht was Turned first."

"Nacht was strong and intelligent," Tarn'se growled, "But she fought without thinking, she let her emotions control her." The Yautja shook his head, "Not a good trait of a warrior."

Ravyn stared at him surprised, "Really? You fought her twice and were able to figure that out?"

Tarn'se gave a small nod, "In the final conflict, she hesitated before killing you; she wanted to enjoy it. A good warrior does not play with his prey. You kill it and be done with it."

"Sweet…" Nathan murmured, staring with unmasked awe at Tarn'se.

Ravyn rolled her eyes and thought, _"Well, at least he's not picking some weak, death-metal, rock singer for an idol."_

"I've got it!" Ivy shouted, jumping up from her seat, startling the others. She raced over to one of the cluttered desks around the room and began digging through the random objects, throwing them aside as she searched. With a triumphant cry she held her hand high. Ravyn got a glimpse of gold in Ivy's hand before she lowered her arm. Turning and facing the others, she shut her eyes and scrunched her face as if trying to remember something.

A wave of cold entered the room and Ivy gasped, her hand opening quickly, releasing a puff of gold smoke. For a moment, nothing happened, and then a vampire appeared in the middle of the room.

Tarn'se gave a sharp bark and his wrist blades popped out of the gauntlet on his forearm. Ravyn grabbed the dagger hung on her waist and dropped into a defensive posture. Nathan, unarmed and the closest one to the vampire, gave a small squeak and dove for cover under a desk; he wasn't dense enough to not know when to leave the fighting to the experts.

"No!" Ivy shouted, jumping in front of the vampire just before Ravyn and Tarn'se leapt into action, "I summoned him!" Ravyn stared uncomprehendingly at Ivy, but relaxed slightly; Tarn'se stayed tense.

"You called?" The vampire asked Ivy, directing the hunters' attention to him. Ravyn recognized him. It was the vampire with the ginger hair from the club they had attacked a few weeks ago; the same one that had given Ivy a favor when she spared his life.

Ravyn turned to Tarn'se, "You can chill; he's not going to do anything." Tarn'se watched Ravyn sheath her dagger and did likewise with his wrist blades.

"Yes, I need a favor," Ivy said calmly, stepping away from the vampire.

The vampire smirked, "I guessed; normally when I'm summoned by a favor talisman, it's for a favor." The vampire's smirk quickly vanished when he caught sight of Ravyn's glare.

"We need you to give us the location of a vampire." The vampire's brows rose and Ivy continued, "We need to find a vampire named Eve, Nacht's sister."

The vampire gave Ivy a disbelieving look, "_That's_ what you want me to do?" Ivy nodded, looking worried. Suddenly, the vampire started laughing loudly, "That's it? Damn, for a favor that's pretty easy. I wish all the humans I gave favors to asked me to do things this easy."

"Finding Eve is easy?" Nathan asked, climbing out from under the desk.

"Well, she's been celebrating everywhere ever since her sister's death. She's not necessarily keeping a low profile," the vampire replied.

Ivy grinned at Ravyn, turned back to the vampire and said curtly, "Take us to Eve now."

* * *

"This is the place?" Ravyn asked skeptically, looking out the tinted window of the car they had taken to the vampire club. Ivy drove with the vampire, Marcus, with Ravyn and Tarn'se in the back. Nathan had wanted to come along, but Ravyn adamantly refused, adding that Tarn'se was going to be extremely cramped as it was in the car. At the mention of the comfort of his new "idol", Nathan backed down easily.

Surprisingly, the building Eve was celebrating in was in a very high-class area of the city, where plenty of humans spent the nights up and about on the streets. The building didn't stand out too much with the exception of the two large vampire guards at the door. They both wore heavily tinted sunglasses to hide their black eyes.

Marcus nodded confidently, "Yep, this is it. Eve isn't as concerned with staying away from humans as Nacht was. No humans are allowed in there of course; though there are the occasional ones that manage to sneak in… they are taken care of, of course." Marcus turned to Ivy, "Is my favor fulfilled?"

"If Eve's in there and you can get us in the building without us getting harmed, the favor's done," Ivy replied.

Marcus nodded slowly and left the car. Walking up to the guards he began to talk to them. Ravyn rolled down the window slightly and strained her ears to try to hear what they were saying. The guards seemed reluctant at first, but at Marcus's consistent demands, they began to nod. Marcus came back to the car and put his head near Ivy's window, "They'll let you in, but you have to get rid of all your weapons."

Ravyn grimaced, but nodded in acceptance and began to take off all of her daggers, and other hunting paraphernalia. Ivy too pulled off the belt of crossbow bolts she had around her waist and set them in the back of the car with her crossbow. Tarn'se growled at the news and shook his head. Ravyn glared at him, but he remained stolid, the glassy lenses of his mask seeming to glare back at her. With a sigh Ravyn relented and stepped out of the car, closely followed by Ivy and Tarn'se.

As the approached the door one of the vampires hissed and pointed at Tarn'se, saying, "He has weapons; he isn't allowed in."

Ravyn snorted in exasperation, "Listen, he has issues with leaving behind his weapons, but he won't attack unless he's provoked. And if you two have a problem with that, you can talk to him about it." The vampires looked closely at Tarn'se and quickly decided they were better off letting him in. The guard turned and fiddled with the locks on the doors, finally pulling them open to reveal a short, plain corridor ending in a large, open elevator.

Ravyn and Tarn'se quickly strode down the hallway into the elevator, Tarn'se stooping due to the low ceiling. Ivy paused and turned to Marcus, "Those guards aren't going to cut the cords and have us fall to our deaths, right?"

Marcus shook his head, "They will not harm you."

Ivy nodded back, "You're dept is repaid."

The vampire grinned, "My thanks, Milady. Perhaps we will meet again under better circumstances." He gave Ivy something akin to a charming smile and disappeared, leaving Ivy standing outside of the building, alone but for the guards.

Ivy quickly made her way to the elevator and heard Ravyn sigh as the doors shut and the elevator began to lower them underground, "Here we go."

* * *

The doors opened to another plain hallway, longer than the one above ground. Ravyn could hear and feel a strong bass beat coming from the door that lay twenty yards away from the elevator entrance. She strode quickly down the hallway and pushed open the doors revealing the club.

The club was much bigger than the one the Ash Guild had destroyed recently. Bright colorful lights flashed in random patterns as strobe lights flickered making the club look like an old movie. The fact that the walls, floors, and ceiling looked like they were made of solid panes of glass only added to the dizzying sensation. It least it was an improvement over the other club which had helpless humans chained to the walls for snacks.

There looked to be three levels to the club: The first level was the large, main dance floor. There was a large bar in the far southeastern corner, though Ravyn didn't, and had no desire to, know what drinks besides blood they served that could interest a vampire. There were also random couches and tables with chairs positioned along the walls, most of them occupied.

The second level was a large walkway which wrapped itself around the back and side walls. It seemed that the older and more sophisticated vampires were in that section from what Ravyn could see. Shadows hid most of the level with the exception of the occasional flash of color from one of the lights.

Finally, in front of them was the third level, which looked like a balcony stretching out from the entire front wall. Directly beneath it on the first level was a little area for the DJ, and also the source of the ear pounding music, judging from the huge speakers on either side of the area. The balcony was too high to see what or who was there, but if Ravyn had to guess, she figured that was the most likely place Eve would be.

Ravyn winced as she, Tarn'se, and Ivy pushed through the throng of vampires. It probably wouldn't be so bad if the vampires actually wore more than the bare essential pieces of clothing. Hell, the place looked more like a strip club than a dance or partying one.

At first, the vampires ignored the group until they were about in the middle of the dance floor. The dancing was the first part to fade, and soon Ravyn could feel almost every vampire's gaze resting on her and her companions. The music was suddenly cut and the only movements were the flickering shadows caused by the lights.

The vampires had formed a tight circle about them, not letting them move further, nor showing any aggressive motions. The vampires knew that hunters had come into their midst, the weapons Tarn'se carried and the mere fact they weren't vampires was an easy indication; however it seemed the vampires were unsure of why the hunters hadn't attacked or made any threat. The vampires' curiosity was probably the only reason the group wasn't drained dry yet.

Ravyn took a deep breath and called into the silence, "We have no quarrel with any of you. We are looking for…" Ravyn paused considering how she should address Eve, "the Master vampire, Eve. We will leave once we speak with her."

There was complete silence for a few moments. Ravyn could feel the tension in the room, knowing if it snapped, there would be no hope for any of them.

Fortunately, a familiar voice broke the silence, "The _Master_ vampire, Eve? I'm truly flattered." Ravyn craned her head upward and saw Eve walk to the edge of the upper balcony. She wore a bright, acid green halter top which was covering in silver studs along with loose, black leather pants and knee-high black boots with visible steel-toes. Her tie-dye hair hung over her shoulders and her large hat with the peacock feather cast a shadow on her face.

She leaned over the rail observing them, and grinned, "I knew I'd be seeing you again, but I didn't imagine it would be so soon." She glanced at Tarn'se briefly, "I see you brought your… unique friend as well." She seemed to sigh and asked, "What can I do for you dashing, young hunters?"

"We need to talk."

Eve grinned wider, "We are talking, hon."

Ravyn rolled her eyes and glanced around, "We need to talk in private."

"Do we now?"

Ravyn glared at Eve and growled at her, "Yes, we do."

Eve began to pick meticulously at her claws, examining them as if she was bored, "And what incentive do I have for chatting with you?"

Ravyn held back a curse, "I'll come up there and kick you ass if you don't." A ripple went through the vampires as they bristled at the threat.

Eve laughed loudly, "Ah, that ever violent disposition so common in hunters. Is the Turning affecting your personality, or did I just catch you in a good mood when you were tied to that chair in my sister's hideaway?"

Ravyn went to snap a reply when she heard a quiet beeping sound. Glancing over at Tarn'se she saw him pressing buttons on the weird gauntlet he had around his left wrist. Eve glanced at him curiously as well.

Looking up at Eve, Tarn'se growled, "I have a self destruct mechanism that will explode on my command. If you do not come with us, I activate it and kill everyone in this room, instantly."

Hisses and even one or two shrieks echoed in the room. Ravyn stared a Tarn'se incredulously. A self destruct devise? What the hell? Ravyn saw a few vampires disappear as they teleported away; the more powerful ones that could teleport to a place based on memory, not sight.

Eve gave Tarn'se a surprised look, then began to chuckle, "My, you drive a hard bargain now, don't you? Alright… I'll bite. Where would you prefer we go?"

"Outside at least, not far from here," Ravyn stated.

Eve gave a small nod and leapt over the railing and landed without a sound on the glass floor. If any human tried that, the glass would have shattered into a million pieces and the human would most likely have died.

"_Show off,"_ Ravyn thought.

With a confident smile Eve walked towards them and led them out of the club.

* * *

"Now, what's this all about?" Eve asked, turning to Ravyn and crossing her arms, "Though it may be a surprise to you, I am quite a busy vampire. I've got fledglings to cow, Masters to insult, humans to bite… you get the drift."

"You gave me the cure for a Turning human," Ravyn stated.

Eve gave her a small smile and put a modest look on her face, "Yes I did; aren't I such a wonderful person?" Ravyn fixed Eve with a glare. Eve's smile disappeared and she regarded them with wariness, "I would think you would be thanking me… but I don't see happy faces."

Ravyn narrowed her eyes, "Did you ever look at the cure?"

Eve shook her head, "I had no desire to… why?"

Ravyn now understood Eve's confusion, "Well, one of the ingredients for the cure is the blood of the vampire that created the Turning human."

Eve blinked and what looked like a true look of compassion and pity entered her face, "Oh… now I see why you aren't such a happy bunch…" Eve paused, thinking, "I suppose it really sucks to be you now, doesn't it?"

Ravyn raised one brow, "Perhaps."

Eve stared carefully at Ravyn, "And the clever hunters have found a way around that particular problem?" Ravyn gave a sharp nod and Eve grinned, "I always though you hunters were a lot smarter than my sister gave you credit for. However, I don't see what you could possibly want with me."

Ravyn took a deep breath, "You are Nacht's twin and were changed by the same vampire. You'd have similar blood, if not the exact same. We need your blood for the cure."

Eve's eyes widened and a shocked look crossed her face, "Well, that is quite a clever idea." She paused, then tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at them, "You know, of course, that I can't just _give_ you my blood."

Ravyn glared sharply, "Why not?"

Eve sighed, "Well, not only would it make me look weak to the other vampires, but it would be incredibly degrading for me just to give you a jar of my blood. In case you didn't know, our blood is the most precious thing we vampires have. Any half-wit vampire would know how sacred and intimate the giving of our blood is. That is why we only give it to our children or perhaps a lover. You are neither."

Ravyn took a menacing step forward, "I don't give a damn about your morals or feelings. I'm only requesting your blood as a courtesy. I will hunt you to the ends of the Earth to get your blood and I will never stop."

Eve blinked, "Well, you know my blood is perfectly useless to you once you've fully Turned, and you've got a week or so left, by my wager."

"Then I will hunt you down and kill you if I do Turn," Ravyn snarled.

"And fall on your blade afterwards?"

At Ravyn's sharp nod, Eve's face froze in an impenetrable mask. Ravyn knew she was thinking carefully, weighing odds and results. In a few seconds a mischievous look entered Eve's eyes and she smiled softly, "Alright… I see your point. However, I'm not just going to _give_ you my blood. You're going to have to work for it."

Eve teleported away and was spotted squatting on the roof of the club fiddling with something in her hand. Ravyn caught a glimpse of something gold before it flew towards her. She instinctively caught it and realized it was an old pocket watch. The gold was tooled beautifully and when Ravyn opened it, she could see the hands too were of gold. The time was set to one minute before midnight.

Eve held up her own hand and swung an almost identical watch from its chain; the one she had, however, was silver, "You have until midnight tomorrow to find me and fight me. If I beat you, I leave and I doubt you will ever find me again. If not, you will gain my blood and your salvation."

Eve stood and began to turn away when Ravyn called, "Where will you be!"

Eve laughed, "Now that would just be much too easy. Though, I suppose I should give you a hint." Eve paused then called back, "I will be at a place that now better resembles its' name." With that, Eve tipped her hat and disappeared.

_I hope you liked it! Please review and I'll try to update quickly again!_


	18. Reactions

_Yes, It took a little longer, but I'm getting better with updating! Thanks to** Chrosis, Raptor-Chick, ben revell, Lunatic Pandora1, Oak Tree Woman, L. Byron, **and** StormRaven333 **for the reviews!_

**Chapter 18: Reactions**

"What kind of dumb-ass hint is that?" Ravyn shrieked after Eve, thought she knew the vampire was long gone. God, how she _hated_ those blood-sucking, sadistic leeches!

"Ravyn, calm down…" Ivy said reaching over and gently laying her hand on Ravyn's shoulder.

Ravyn saw red and blinked. Suddenly, Ivy was lying about ten yards away from her, clutching her stomach as she tried to catch her breath. Tarn'se had jumped back and his wrist blades were out, not aimed at her, but ready to fend off an attack. Ravyn's arm pulsed with a slight pain and it donned on her; she had finally snapped from the stress and whacked Ivy though the air.

"Ivy!" Ravyn raced over to her friend ad dropped down next to her, "I'm so sorry…"

Ivy shook her head, regaining some breath, "it's not your fault… you've been under a lot of stress recently."

"That's no excuse for me to launch you through the air," Ravyn grumbled.

Ivy shook her head, "You couldn't help it… vampire's often do things like that when they loose their temper…" Ivy's face sagged and she clasped her hands over her mouth and stared at Ravyn's stricken face.

Ravyn fell back onto her butt and wrapped her arms around her legs, trying not to hyper ventilate. Ivy had just called her a vampire. Was she that far along? Had she finished Turning?

Lunging at Ivy, Ravyn grabbed her friend by the shoulders and shook her, "Look at my eyes! What are they!" When a human finished Turning, they finally gained the onyx eyes with silver irises. Ravyn's heart pounded as Ivy hesitantly looked her in the face.

Ravyn felt Ivy body relax and she knew she was safe. "Nope, still green," Ivy whispered. Ravyn nodded and resumed her fetal position, trying to calm herself.

"Well, I guess we now need to figure out a riddle," Ivy said softly, standing and offering her hand to Ravyn. Ravyn grasped it gratefully and stood.

Tarn'se approached cautiously, "A place that now better resembles its' name," he repeated, "I have no knowledge of your human monuments."

Ravyn shrugged, "Doesn't matter… I doubt we'll figure it out anyway." Ravyn ignored Ivy's shocked look and kept walking, Tarn'se matching her stride. Ivy jogged to catch up and they walked in silence back to the car.

As they opened the doors, Ravyn heard a distinct beeping. She glanced at Ivy, thinking it was her cell phone. Ivy shook her head. Ravyn looked and Tarn'se and said dully, "You're beeping."

Tarn'se looked down at his left wrist and opened a compartment, pressing a few buttons. His head tilted and he muttered, "Jaelre? What the hell are you doing here?"

Ravyn and Ivy glanced at each other and Ravyn inquired, "Jaelre?"

Tarn'se kept looking at the devise on his wrist and replied vacantly, "He's one of my clan mates, and a good friend of mine."

Ravyn blinked, "There are more than one of you guys here?"

Tarn'se's mask pulled up, "There were many upon Earth recently; my clan. They are widely dispersed so humans won't guess what is happening…" Tarn'se trailed off, "But the hunt is over. I have no idea why Jaelre would be here…" He turned and began to jog away, his cloaking activating and making him no more than a shimmer. Though there weren't many humans out, he didn't want to risk being seen.

Ravyn and Ivy followed, keeping an eye on Tarn'se's shimmering form. He led them about three blocks before stopping and starting to quickly scale a brick wall. Ivy spotted a fire escape and ran up it, closely followed by Ravyn. Tarn'se's form disappeared as they were halfway up the escape.

* * *

"Tarn'se! I've been searching everywhere for you! I though the others may have gone out and found you already," Jaelre said as Tarn'se uncloaked in front of him. Jaelre shook Tarn'se's shoulder tightly, giving away how tense he was.

Tarn'se returned the gesture, "Jaelre, what are you doing here? Leader Macre is going to be furious when he finds out you left without permission…"

"I'm here on his orders," Jaelre interrupted, "Tarn'se you are in great danger. The clan… Damn! Cloak quickly!" Jaelre barked pulling out a shuriken, extending the blades and pulling his arm back to throw it.

Tarn'se grabbed Jaelre's arm and turned to see Ravyn and Ivy ducking just below the roof ledge, "Is he gonna finish that throw or can we come up?" Ravyn called.

"You may come up," Tarn'se said with a nod. Turning to Jaelre he explained, "These are human hunters, they hunt and kill the vampire creatures I told you about." Jaelre put away his shuriken but his stance remained tense.

"Hello," Ivy said with a grin. Her eyes sparkled as she did a quick scan of the new alien's mind, trying to pick up any emotions that may help her out. Her face paled and she looked at Ravyn, "We should probably leave."

Ravyn's brows rose, "Why?"

"'Cause he's seriously considering killing us." Ravyn's eyes widened and she looked at Tarn'se for some help.

Tarn'se glared at Jaelre sharply through his mask lenses, "You are not to harm them. They are my allies and you will treat them as such."

Jaelre growled angrily, "Tarn'se this is madness. When you told me you encountered human hunters, I assumed you had simply seen them, _not revealed yourself to them!_ It was difficult enough to believe that you were transforming into some blood-sucking parasite, but you ask me far too much to simply stand by and watch you openly associate with these humans. Have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten our laws? The simple fact they have seen you is bad enough! What if they told their superiors? You know as well as I do how the humans' government has been trying to capture one of us. Do you know what the Elders will do to you when they find out about this?"

"These humans have no contact with their human government; their only purpose is to hunt down and kill vampires, the infected humans," Tarn'se replied quickly.

"That's not the point!" Jaelre let out a loud rattle, trying to calm himself, "Tarn'se you have to get out of here now!"

Tarn'se eyed his friend, concerned, "What is going on?"

"You're in deep trouble Tarn'se. The Arbitrators are here."

"What?" Tarn'se shouted, "How… that's impossible! There hasn't been enough time for Leader Macre to send a message and have an Arbitrator sent!"

"You would be right," Jaelre growled, "If the Arbitrator Far'hnde didn't arrive on the last ship! He and Leader Macre talked and chose to come after you!" he paused and muttered, "I convinced Leader Macre to send me ahead to try to convince you to come back peacefully."

"I can't leave!" Tarn'se shouted, felling as if his world were crashing down around him, "I told you what is happening to me! These humans," he gestured to Ravyn and Ivy, "are the only ones that could possibly aid me. The shame brought to my name by associating with them is irrelevant when compared to what may happen should this disease fully take me!"

Jaelre sighed, shaking his head, "This is folly, Tarn'se. Can't you see that? Why not ask the healers to help you. They could…"

"I am beyond any of our healers' medicines. I am going to become one of those creatures unless these humans can help me." Tarn'se hung his head, "I am finished if I go back now; I am as good as dead. All I need is one day, and if I do not come back then, then I will have fallen on my blade."

Jaelre stared at him for a long moment. Tarn'se began to wonder whether his friend would try to take him by force. In the end, Jaelre held out his hand, "Give me your left gauntlet then."

"What?" Tarn'se stepped back. The left gauntlet contained not only the system for cloaking, changing mask visions, and firing a plasma caster, but also a Yautja warrior's self-destruct devise. Tarn'se wasn't about to give that up so easily.

"They will track you through the homing beacon in your gauntlet. I will need to tamper with it so it will not work," Jaelre explained.

Tarn'se grinned and held out his left arm. Jaelre took it and quickly began to flip switches, press buttons, and activate all sorts of locking codes. Tarn'se chuckled, "I will never again taunt you about your extensive knowledge of our technology."

Jaelre growled, "I never imagined I would be using it to help a delinquent friend escape an Arbitrator." There was a high pitched beeping from the gauntlet and a few of the red lights blinked out. Jaelre released Tarn'se, satisfied, "It will take them longer to find you now, but I can't just go back to them and tell them you refused to come."

"You may come with me; trust me, these humans have nothing to do with their government. I trust them." Tarn'se blinked when he spoke. He trusted the humans? There were very few of his kind that he trusted. Never had he imagined that he would ever place his trust in another species, let alone one with such terrible reputation for being _untrustworthy_.

These humans were different, though. They were hunters like him and his kind. They aided him when he had needed aid, and he had fought beside them as if they were part of his own clan. They had earned his trust, as much as the lone warrior in him disliked the idea.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a human voice call out haughtily, "Now, what's this? A free meal?" He spun with a snarl to see three vampires calmly walking out of the shadows. They must have seen them and teleported to the rooftop. There were two males and a female, the male with long bladed dagger in his hand; the head male chuckled again, "Exotic food I see; how fascinating." They were dressed in plain black clothes and didn't look too distinguished, comparing them to all of the other fancy costumed vampires Tarn'se had encountered.

Jaelre pulled out his spear and extended it, "Tarn'se, what are these?" he hissed anxiously, staring at the vampires.

"Vampires," Tarn'se replied, "Do you have a spare weapon?" Tarn'se cursed silently that he had left with no weapons but his plasma caster and wrist blades. The plasma caster would be next to useless if the vampires could teleport and he would have to be very close to the vampires to use his wrist blades; too close.

Jaelre unsheathed a katana-like sword and passed it to him. Tarn'se took the sword and extended his wrist blades. He glanced at the human hunters and saw Ravyn with a sword and dagger unsheathed and Ivy with a loaded crossbow.

"Behead them or stab them through the heart," Tarn'se told Jaelre, "Everything else will be ineffective."

"I'm not in the mood for anything exotic tonight," the other male vampire drawled, "I'll take the humans."

"Have fun," the female purred, turning and eyeing Tarn'se. She teleported and Jaelre barked in surprise.

Tarn'se shut his eyes and concentrated on his other senses. Many Yautja often would sit for hours focusing their other senses besides sight, in case they were blinded in battle. Tarn'se spun as he felt a tiny wind behind him and the ever so slight pop of air displacing suddenly. He felt the sword hit something yielding and heard the female vampire scream. He heard a distinct thud and a curse from Jaelre; the other vampire had attacked. Human shouts indicated Ravyn and Ivy were also engaged in battle.

He had hit the female in the side and she clawed desperately to try to get the sword out of her. Her form flickered as she tried to teleport, but was hindered due to the pain she was in. Tarn'se aimed his plasma caster and fired, the vampire's chest exploding in a shower of blood. As the vampire began to melt away into ash, Tarn'se heard Jaelre shriek. Tearing the blade out of the disintegrating vampire, Tarn'se shouted in shock as he stared Jaelre's limp form with the vampire attached to his neck. Tarn'se dove at the vampire knocking it away from Jaelre, who screamed as the vampire released him.

The vampire rolled with Tarn'se and managed to get on top of him. The vampire snarled and snapped at Tarn'se, raking its' claws down his abs, drawing blood. Tarn'se growled and tried to stab at the vampire with his wrist blades but couldn't get a good angle.

Suddenly, the vampire shrieked into his face and threw itself off of him, flailing at its' back. Tarn'se looked up to see Ravyn standing a few feet away with a crossbow aimed at where the vampire was now beginning to dissolve.

Tarn'se quickly got to his feet and raced over to where Jaelre was lying motionless on the ground. Tarn'se grabbed his friend's shoulder and was rewarded with a dizzying punch to the face. He stumbled back and stared and Jaelre who was breathing heavily and shaking.

"Leave him alone for a second," Ivy said softly, "Being bitten and having a vampire ripped off that fast is a little shocking the first time."

"I'm fine," Jaelre growled at Ivy, trying to stand. He lost his balance halfway up and fell to his knees. Tarn'se approached slowly and offered a hand to his friend. Jaelre glanced at him for a moment, and then allowed himself to be helped to his feet. He turned and stared at the pile of ash that was the vampire that had bitten him, while reaching up and touching the two bleeding pinpricks on his neck.

Jaelre turned to Tarn'se, "You're turning into one of those things?" Tarn'se gave a small nod. Jaelre looked back at the pile of ashes and shook his head. Not taking his gaze from the ashes he voiced what everyone was thinking:

"What do we do now?"

_I know, not too eventful, but more is coming soon! Probably not until next week though; I've got a huge AP Biology test this week and other numerous school things…ick. Please Review! _


	19. Problems and Solutions

_I managed to update faster this time! And I managed a B on my Bio test! Score! Thanks so much to** Prairiefire, Raptor-Chick, ben revell, Lunatic Pandora1, Oak Tree Woman, L. Byron, **and** StormRaven333 **for the reviews! Such nice people... And I know there's a bunch of lurkers out there not reviewing; I'm not getting over 8000 hits on this story for nothing! Lol._

**Chapter 19: Problems and Solutions**

Ravyn glanced at the golden pocket watch for what seemed like the thousandth time. The numbers accurately read 10:45 pm, which meant she had only an hour and fifteen minutes left to figure out the riddle, find Eve, and fight her.

They had returned to the Ice guild house immediately after the skirmish with the three vampires. Tarn'se and his friend, Jaelre, had left them to go eat or sleep or do whatever they did when they weren't hunting, saying that they would be back at the Ice Guild house around sunset.

Ravyn felt exhausted. When she and Ivy had gotten back to the guild house, which was a little after midnight, Ivy had sent Ravyn directly to bed, with the promise that she would interrogate every person she encountered with the riddle Eve had given them. Ravyn hadn't been sleeping very well recently, but, for once, she fell asleep almost instantly after laying down in her bed.

When she woke, it was one in the afternoon. She had slept for thirteen hours, though it didn't surprise her. She quickly hunted down Ivy and was stricken with the news that not a single hunter in the Ash or Ice Guild could come up with a plausible answer to the riddle.

She proceeded to order Ivy to sleep and drove to the other Guild house, Smoke, and asked the riddle around there without any luck. She had spent the rest of her time searching the internet for some clue and staring at the wall of her room trying to come up with an answer to the riddle.

Tarn'se and Jaelre both returned around nine pm and Ravyn lead them down to the laboratory to wait until she came up with an answer. Ravyn felt rather guilty telling Tarn'se they had not come up with an answer yet, but he seemed to understand. The only silver lining around this particularly black cloud was the fact Tarn'se still had a week or so before he Turned. He still had a chance to find Eve. Ravyn knew her time was almost up; if she had to guess, she would think she had three or four days left at most.

The future was looking bleak.

* * *

Tarn'se relaxed against an open space of wall in the human laboratory, watching Jaelre inspect his surroundings.

When they had left the human hunters, Tarn'se waited on the rooftop of an abandoned human building while Jaelre went back to his pod to collect spare weapons for Tarn'se, along with some food. They had both agreed that they should go nowhere near Tarn'se's own pod; that would be the first place the rest of the clan would look for him when they came after him.

Jaelre had brought Tarn'se a spear, three shuriken, and two long daggers. Jaelre himself was equip with a plasma caster, wrist blades, spear, net gun, disk, and a few smaller throwing daggers. Tarn'se had spent the day resting and educating Jaelre about hunting and killing the vampires. Jaelre was still a little shaken up after being bitten by the vampire, but didn't seem to want to talk about it.

Tarn'se could also tell Jaelre still didn't trust the humans. Ever since they entered the human dwelling, every small noise or sudden movement had Jaelre twitching and jumping. Tarn'se tried to ignore this but ended up bursting out in laughter.

"You find our situation amusing?" Jaelre growled.

"No, I find you demeanor amusing," Tarn'se replied calmly, "You need to relax more."

"Relax?" Jaelre stared at him incredulously, "I am standing in the middle of a human outpost, visible and vulnerable, speaking to my clan mate who is turning into some sort of blood-sucking parasite, and you expect me to relax?"

Tarn'se's stance tensed and Jaelre winced when he realized he had hit a nerve with the latter part of his statement. With a sigh, he murmured, "My apologies…" He paused for a moment, and then spoke cautiously, "How long until you become one of them?"

"Two weeks, perhaps less," Tarn'se spoke stiffly. Jaelre nodded and his hand involuntarily reached up and touched the twin puncture marks the vampire had left on his neck, shuddering.

Tarn'se noticed the motion; Jaelre had been repeating it ever since they had killed the vampires. It was as if his friend thought the wound was still open, still fresh, and the vampire still present. Tarn'se gave a growl of exasperation, "Jaelre, you are not turning into a vampire; you have to drink their blood to do that. I've told you that many times, so stop worrying at those marks."

"That is not the reason for my… tenseness," Jaelre replied curtly.

Tarn'se narrowed his eyes, "So, what is?"

Jaelre shifted uncomfortably, then asked outright, "How did it feel when you were first bitten by one of those creatures?"

Tarn'se thought for a moment, "It was very pleasant; a relaxing, gentle feeling." He paused, "However, I knew something wasn't right and I was able to come to my senses and fight the vampire. Then, it hurt very badly."

Jaelre gave a small nod and remained silent. Tarn'se, now very curious, asked, "Was it not like that for you?"

Jaelre shuddered, "Yes; that was exactly what it was like for me. But, unlike you, I couldn't shake it… I…" Jaelre hung his head in shame, "I didn't want it to stop." Jaelre snarled angrily, "I am weak!" He barked angrily, his hands clenching into fists.

"You're not weak," a quiet voice said softly. The Yautja jumped as Nathan descended the stairs into the lab, carrying a stack of notebooks and folders in his arms. He smiled sheepishly, "Sorry for eavesdropping; I heard to guys talking and your masks were translating what you said, so…" he trailed off, shrugging.

Tarn'se heard Jaelre curse quietly; admitting that one had a weakness was an incredibly hard thing for a Yautja to do. It meant in that weakness, they had a fear, and when one is a part of a supposedly "fearless" race, a weakness such as that could be highly detrimental, not to mention embarrassing and demeaning. To say such a thing in front of any being, Yautja or otherwise, required a great deal of trust or respect; Nathan had yet to earn either from Jaelre.

"But, you're not weak," Nathan continued, setting his load down on one of the few empty tables, "Trust me,' you, at least, have the guts to admit you liked it and the will to prevent it from happening again."

Jaelre snorted in disbelief. Tarn'se glared at him through his mask and turned to Nathan, "Have you ever been bitten?"

Nathan shifted nervously, "Yeah, but one of the biggest risks of participating in a vampire hunt is the fact that the hunter will eventually get bitten. Most, like you guys, are embarrassed or ashamed and go to every extent to prevent it from happening again. Others… really enjoy it." Nathan shuddered and continued, "I've seen lots of scary things ever since I came here, but the worst had to be some of the addicted humans; addicted to the vampire's bite. It was creepy as hell. They would all just shadow the vampires, never really happy until a vampire bit them and gave them the high they wanted; it was worse then the worst drug addictions."

Nathan's eyes glazed over as he remembered, "A few years ago, we found a group of five addicts who had been shadowing vampires for a few years. God… it was terrible. Three of them would sit and cry and starve themselves begging us to release them so they could go find a vampire to bite them. One we had to strap down because he kept tearing up his wrist with his teeth, trying to get the feeling the vampire gave him. The other…" Nathan gulped, "she gouged out her eyes and tore out her own throat with her nails; she lost consciousness by the time we were able to restrain her and she died a few hours later.

"They all died eventually… starved themselves. I suppose they're better off dead than being alive and vampire junkies." Nathan looked at Jaelre, "You have nothing to be ashamed of; everyone enjoys it, but only a few choose to resist it."

Jaelre and Tarn'se stared at Nathan for a few seconds, before Tarn'se spoke, "Those are wise words from one so young."

Nathan shrugged, "A little wisdom is the least I could get from seeing what I've seen." Tarn'se gave Nathan a small nod of praise and smiled behind his mask when he saw Jaelre visibly relax; it seemed Nathan had earned Jaelre respect…

Suddenly, there were a couple loud bangs and some shouting coming from the level above them. Nathan looked up at the ceiling nervously, "What's that about?"

Tarn'se hissed quietly, "Ravyn and Ivy had left to ask the other hunters again if they could answer Eve's riddle. Apparently, they could not."

"Eve's riddle?" Nathan asked as Ivy and Ravyn came down the steps. Nathan wisely moved out of the way. Ravyn looked pissed, and Ivy just looked exhausted.

Ravyn grumbled, "Evil bitch… can't give a simple explanation… she just had to stretch it out and make it all complex!"

"Um… hi?" Nathan said hesitantly. Both Ravyn and Ivy jumped. Ravyn glanced between Nathan and the Yautja and growled, "I certainly hope you weren't bothering them."

"No; he was being perfectly respectable," Tarn'se said quickly, sensing Ravyn's bad mood. After seeing her launch her own clan mate, Ivy, through the air, he really didn't want to be anywhere near her if she had another one of her outbursts.

Ravyn sighed and sank into an empty computer chair. Sagging heavily in the chair, she set her arms down on a table and laid her head on them, sighing, "Sorry, guys. I'm just really tired, really annoyed, and turning into a vampire; things like that tend to make me cranky." They all laughed quietly, though the sound was hollow.

Nathan, deciding it was now safe to speak, asked, "What's this 'Eve's riddle' thing?"

Ravyn pulled her head up and turned to Nathan with a small smile, "Hey, Nathan, why don't you pull one of those amazing little strokes of genius again." At Nathan's confused look, Ravyn elaborated, "We met up with Eve and she agreed to give us her blood on the condition that we find and fight her within a day; time is up at Midnight. She didn't tell us where to meet her though; she gave us a riddle." Ravyn paused and spoke slowly and clearly, "She said, 'I will be at a place that now better resembles its' name.'"

Nathan blinked and gave Ravyn a blank stare, "That's what I thought," Ravyn muttered, putting her face in her hands.

Suddenly, Nathan started laughing, "That's it? That's the riddle? Jeez, you guys are pretty slow if you can't figure that one out."

Ravyn's head snapped up and she stared intensely at Nathan, "What? You know the answer?"

Nathan chuckled, "Yeah; it's pretty simple." Glancing around, Nathan noticed he had captured the undivided attention of the two humans and Yautja in the room. He glanced at each of them and said, "You mean… you guys couldn't figure it out?"

"Nathan," Ivy said slowly, "What do you think the answer is?"

Nathan grinned, "The old Ash Guild house. Don't you get it? 'A place that now better resembles its' name'; the guild house burned down, into _ashes_."

Ravyn's jaw dropped, and Ivy gave Nathan an amazed look. Tarn'se skipped being shocked and went right to the point, "Then we go to the ruins of the guild house."

Ravyn jumped to her feet, "Off we go then!"

"Hold on a second!" Ivy shouted, grabbing Ravyn's arm and stopping her, "I don't think it would be wise for you two to just run out there alone."

Ravyn stared at Ivy, pulling out the golden pocket watch and dangling it in front of Ivy, "Ivy, not to be rude, but in case you haven't noticed, we have a little over an hour to get there and fight Eve."

"Yes, but do you think Eve's going to be there alone? Who knows how many vampires she's going to have with her? It would be better to get there prepared with five minutes left, then have you two run head first into this and get killed by a dozen fledglings that she brought with her."

Ravyn sighed, "Alright," turning to Tarn'se she said, "Ivy's got a point. Give us fifteen minutes and we'll have an army ready."

Tarn'se nodded once in agreement, "A smart warrior approaches his challenges with caution."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, every able-bodied member of the Ash Guild house, and a few from the Ice Guild, were marching out of the Ice Guild house and jumping into vans and cars that were headed towards the ruins of the Ash guild house. The Ash Guild house was approximately ten blocks away from the Ice Guild house, and they would drive a little over three fourths of the way there. Tarn'se and Jaelre had taken to the rooftops and were leading the way.

When they were about two blocks away from the guild house, all of the cars and other vehicles pulled over on the sides of the rode, depositing their occupants. The total amount of hunters was thirty, including Ravyn, Ivy, Nathan, and the two Yautja. As Ravyn stepped out of her car, she heard two soft thuds as Tarn'se and Jaelre leapt down from the rooftops and landed nearby.

They uncloaked and Tarn'se stepped forward, "How are you planning to approach this?"

"We're marching right down the middle of the street. Don't worry about people seeing you. No one is out on the streets here; anyone who is gets picked off by the vampires or chased away by us," Ravyn said calmly, watching the hunters get into their positions on the street, a triangular formation, specifically designed to help the offenders break through a defensive line.

"Why not stay in the shadows?" Jaelre questioned, "You give your position away by this."

Ravyn shook her head, "Eve already knows we're coming. If we split up, we could get slaughtered. It's better to stay in a group and be obvious, but strong."

Jaelre seemed to accept the answer and Tarn'se spoke, "We will join your attack on the vampires; I do not let any others fight by own battles."

"As will I," Jaelre said, "I wish to test my own skills against these… vampires, now that I am prepared."

Ravyn smiled, "We're glad to have you along. Let's go."

Now in position, the hunters marched quickly down the street, headed by Ravyn and Tarn'se. Two blocks directly ahead of them were the remains of the Ash Guild house and the vampire Eve. The group looked vigilantly around them for flashes of pale white skin or glowing silver eyes. As they approached the last block, the Ash guild house was almost in plain view, but they had yet to encounter a single vampire.

Ravyn glanced at the pocket watch: thirty minutes left. Her heart was pounding but she kept herself calm. She was amazed that no vampires had tried to attack yet; maybe it would just be a battle between her and Eve.

Suddenly, Tarn'se and Jaelre stopped in their tracks and hissed staring straight ahead. Ravyn looked back and eyed them curiously. The rest of the hunters stopped as well, all staring at the aliens.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ravyn asked.

Ravyn saw exactly what was wrong when she looked in front of her and saw about a dozen Yautja uncloaking right in front of them…

_Oh, am I evil or what? Yes, I know this chapter didn't have any fighting, but I promise the next one will! Review and I'll try to post the next one soon!_


	20. Brawl

_I know… I took forever to update. But on the brighter side of things, my little note on the previous chapter got some lurkers out of hiding! Yay! (gives them cookies… along with regular reviewers) Thanks a lot to** Chrosis, Warlordomega, DasNewfie, Raptor-Chick, ben revell, Zack0Holic, Lunatic Pandora1, Oak Tree Woman, L. Byron, StormRaven333, and iconofcoolness **for the reviews! _

**Chapter 20: Brawl**

"Dammit," Ravyn growled, "Like we don't have enough problems at the moment." She did a quick head count of the aliens and came up with thirteen. Each was decked out in tons of weaponry and armor, making the vampire hunters look like kids with little wooden swords.

There were two that stood slightly in front of the group. The one on the left looked older, scars splattered over most of his exposed skin. He seemed the bulkiest of the bunch and wore a crimson cape over his shoulders, along with fancier armor that looked almost brand new; his mask was carved in the front to look like a gaping maw.

The other on the right was at least six inches taller than any of the aliens there, which was saying something, and wore a deep violet sash, covered in golden markings, across his chest. Unlike the others who wore the fish-net body suits, this guy's under armor looked like a full, tight, dull black suit, clinging to his muscled figure. His average looking grey-black armor was pieced over the suit, with a few extra pieces and ornaments placed here and there, many of them looking as though they were carved from bone. His mask was very simple, with the exception of it being a glossy black with very elaborate swirls and curves carved into the mask itself, resembling flames. Ravyn got the distinct impression that it would not be wise to mess with that one.

The bulkier one spoke first, the words a strange combination of clicks, growls, and purrs. Apparently, these guys didn't have any translators in their masks, or just didn't have them turned on; either way, Ravyn could tell by his tone that he was pissed. Tarn'se quickly barked back an answer, too fast for his mask to pick up and translate it.

Ravyn and the hunters watched the aliens bicker back and forth. Ravyn bit her lip and glanced at the watch; 25 minutes left. She cursed silently and began wondering whether they should just leave without Tarn'se and Jaelre or stick around and hope this little fight was over soon.

After debating the thought for a few moments Ravyn decided:

The aliens had three minutes.

* * *

"Tarn'se, what have you done?!" Macre growled, staring at the large group of humans that stood behind the warrior.

"I have come to save my honor; I suggest you get out of our way," Tarn'se replied swiftly.

Macre hissed in rage, "You dare command me?!"

Tarn'se met the hiss with calm words and demeanor, "I was simply suggesting you leave; you do not understand the situation we are in."

"The situation?!" Macre roared, "The situation is you left the ship and returned to this world without cause or reason and now I find you've revealed yourself to humans and openly walk with them! Have you lost your mind!? And Jaelre, what is the meaning of this?! We sent you out here to bring him back, not join him!"

"Tarn'se is right, Leader Macre, you do not understand what is going on," Jaelre replied hotly, "We would be glad to explain it to you, in time, but at the moment we…"

"We will not wait for anything," Far'hnde rasped coolly, eyeing the two warriors, "You both have violated our strictest codes and laws. You will be taken with us now and held before the Elder Counsel for judgment. Should you prove your actions to be appropriate and your motives sound, you will be released. If not," Far'hnde's wrist blades, much longer than the standard blades most warriors had, shot out of his wrist, "Then you are to die."

Jaelre glanced sideways at Tarn'se, unsure of what to do. Tarn'se simply stood his ground, "I understand your logic, Arbitrator, but I do not have the time to go back to the home world and face a trial. My honor is hanging in the balance, and if I must fight and kill you to save it, then I will."

Jaelre and all of the other Yautja stared at Tarn'se in shock. Far'hnde though, after many years of hunting down insane bad bloods, was unfazed, "So be it." Far'hnde pulled out a long, saber-like sword and fell into a fighting position.

* * *

Ravyn watched the tall Yautja go into what looked like a battle stance and swore; this was getting worse by the minute! They did not have time for this!

Suddenly, Ravyn felt a tug on her sleeve. She turned to face Ivy, who looked rather nervous, "Ravyn," Ivy whispered, "We're in trouble." Ivy's hands shook slightly as she dipped a dart in one of her last bottles of sun-light serum and loaded her crossbow.

"I know," Ravyn whispered back, "Now we have to get around these guys while Tarn'se and his buddy over there duke it out."

Ivy shook her head rapidly, "That's not what we're worried about." Ravyn looked back further and saw that the hunters had moved into a circular defensive stance and were staring into the shadows intently.

"What the… oh shit…" Ravyn groaned as she watched dozens of vampires step out of the shadows. "Tarn'se! We got problems!"

* * *

Tarn'se heard Ravyn call his name and he took a quick glance over his shoulder, his eyes widening when he saw the vampires.

Turning back to his clan, Tarn'se watched as more vampires strode out of the shadows, forming an oblong ring around both his clan and the vampire hunters. His clan tensed and hissed dangerously at the new arrivals. Tarn'se shouted quickly, "Stab them through the heart or take their heads off; nothing else can kill them!"

"What is this?" Far'hnde hissed looking at the vampires, "What are these humans doing here?"

"They're not human!" Tarn'se barked, expanding his spear and wrist blades. Looking at the vampires, Tarn'se growled when he realized that, even with his clan and the human hunters combined, they were outnumbered.

* * *

"How many Ivy?" Ravyn asked, never taking her eyes off the grinning vampires.

"Sixty," Ivy sighed, holding her crossbow ready.

Ravyn twitched at the number. Sixty? That meant there were twice as many vampires than humans! Even if Tarn'se and his group fought they'd still be outnumbered! This was bad, _very_ bad.

The hunters watched warily as the vampires formed a loose, slightly elliptical circle around both the humans and the Yautja. They all stopped in unison, about five yards away. One of the vampires, positioned between the two groups, took an extra step forward. It was a male vampire, dressed in a black suit that looked rather expensive. "Hello, hunters," he purred, "It's time to play."

"Back off!" Ravyn growled, "The fight's between me and Eve!"

The vampire laughed, a high pitch keening sound, "We do not care about your affair with our Mistress's sister."

"Oh double shit," Ravyn muttered, "Nacht's fledglings…"

The vampire grinned wider, "Indeed."

Ravyn narrowed her eyes, "So, you guys have come to avenge Nacht's death?"

The vampire laughed again, "Heavens, no! We didn't care at all about our Mistress. However," he took another step forward, "when she fell, so did we…"

Ravyn smirked, "So the mighty have fallen and are pissed off about it? Tough shit. Bring it on."

The vampire hissed, baring his fangs, "You'll regret that." He gestured with his hand and the vampires moved closer.

* * *

"They aren't human?" Far'hnde scoffed, as the vampires moved closer, "You have lost your mind."

Tarn'se growled at the Arbitrator, "Have I?" Tarn'se quickly locked his plasma caster on a vampire and fired, blowing her abdomen to pieces.

"Dishonorable!" Far'hnde shrieked, "It was unarmed!"

Tarn'se responded to Far'hnde's accusation by pointing at the 'human', that was picking itself off the ground and clutching at its' rapidly healing stomach, looking lividly pissed.

Far'hnde hissed in shock, "It is impossible!" As the words left this mouth, the vampire leapt at Tarn'se who promptly dodged and impaled it through the chest. The vampire screamed as it dissolved into ash.

As the other vampires shrieked in anger and prepared to attack, Tarn'se repeated, "Only a stab through the heart or a beheading will kill them!"

* * *

Ravyn dodged the vampire as he leapt at her, unsheathing her rapier along the way. With a spin, Ravyn slashed at the vampire's face, pulling a dagger out of her belt with her left hand. The vampire teleported as the rapier passed through where its' head used to be. Reappearing with a grin, the vampire didn't notice Ravyn's left arm with her dagger until it was too late.

Ravyn felt the momentum of her spin shudder to a halt as the dagger in her hand sank into the vampire's neck. The vampire screamed, though only a rasp and gout of blood exited its mouth. With a grunt, Ravyn dropped to the ground, dragging the vampire down with her. She quickly put a knee down on top of the vampire's chest, ripping the dagger out of its neck and stabbing it down through the vamp's heart.

As the vampire gave its' last gasp, Ravyn was tackled from behind and lost her dagger and rapier. A female vampire grabbed Ravyn by her shoulders and wrestled her down to the ground, snapping at her neck. Ravyn got her arms free, and caught the vampire's neck, holding her back. Ravyn could hear her pulse pounding in her ears and with a scream of rage she moved her hands up, grasped the vampire's head, and twisted it sharply to the side.

A loud crack echoed in Ravyn's head and the vampire collapsed on top of her, twitching. Eventually, the vampire's neck would heal, but Ravyn pulled out another dagger and put it in the vamp's heart to prevent that from ever happening.

Ravyn felt as if her senses had been turned up on maximum. She vaguely recognized that this was a sign she was very close to Turning, but she didn't really care at the moment. Another vampire charged at her and Ravyn threw the dagger sharply, burying the weapon to the hilt in the vampire's chest.

A yelp reached her ear and Ravyn spun around and saw Ivy, about twenty feet away, amidst the chaos of the fighting hunters and vampires. She had lost her crossbow and was now using a long dagger to defend herself, but wasn't doing a very good job of it. Ravyn screamed when she saw Ivy miss a block and get hit hard in the face by the vamp she was fighting. Ravyn saw Ivy's bloodied face as she fell.

Without thinking, Ravyn leapt twenty feet over the heads of all of the combatants, the vampire virus in her system boosting her abilities, whipping out two long curved daggers, kukris, along the way. She collided with the vampire, hooking the daggers around the vamp's neck and letting her momentum spin her as she cut all the way around the its neck. Landing gracefully, she jerked the daggers back and cut the vampire's head off, receiving a disgusting splash of blood in the face, though the vampire part of her relished the kill and sweet blood scent.

Racing over to Ivy, Ravyn sheathed the kukris, dropped down, and scooped her friend up, looking for the nearest safe spot. She caught a glimpse of an empty alley and leapt again, easily clearing the fighting and landing in a crouch in the alley. She quickly leaned Ivy up against the wall and called her name. Ivy's nose was definitely broken and she probably had a concussion. Blood leaked sluggishly from a cut on her lip.

Ivy's eyes fluttered open and she spit out the blood that was in her mouth. Giving Ravyn a weak, blood-stained smile Ivy muttered, "Ravyn, you look like crap."

"Thanks, so do you," Ravyn rolled her eyes, "Are you alright?"

Ivy groaned, "My nose is broken, my head hurts, and I think a few of my teeth are loose, but besides that I'm fine."

Ravyn glanced back at the fighting; it was all out chaos. She imagined that this was what those ancient battles in Greek and Roman times must have looked like. One person would go down, their opponent victorious for a second until they were stabbed in the back. Ravyn was relieved to see that her fellows were holding their own, but the vampires were no push-overs. Ravyn could see a few unmoving bodies sprawled on the ground.

"Stay here," Ravyn told Ivy sternly, "Don't move or make a sound until the battle is over, got it?"

"No problem," Ivy whispered, "Just get Nathan."

Ravyn gave a sharp nod then raced back into the brawl.

* * *

Tarn'se pulled away from his most recent kill, the loud crackle of plasma casters firing as well as the surprised cries of the Yautja ringing in his ears. Unlike the human hunters, his clan was not doing so well against the vampires.

They had no comprehension of the vampires' capabilities. Only he and Jaelre really knew how to fight them. He saw more than one of his fellows stab a vampire in the gut and get clawed at or bitten in return.

Far'hnde seemed to be managing himself well. A vampire would charge him and he would calmly behead it with his sword while swinging his wrist blades back to rip another vampire's heart out. After so many years of fighting unpredictable Bad Bloods, Far'hnde was excellent at fighting opponents with unknown capabilities.

Jaelre too, was fighting well. He and Tarn'se had stayed close in battle, watching one another's backs for threats. At one point a vampire teleported past their defenses, knocked Tarn'se sprawling, and bit Jaelre. This time, however, Jaelre seized the vampire by its' long hair, pulled it away, and bashed its' head into the ground until it was nothing more than a bloody pulp that proceeded to dissolve into ash.

As Tarn'se defended himself, he could see at least three of his clan on the ground, unmoving, most likely dead. Dodging another hit from a vampire, Tarn'se caught a glimpse of Macre being grabbed by four vampires in unison and pulled to the ground. Tarn'se shuddered when he heard Macre shriek in agony; the vampires were feeding.

He quickly dispatched the vampire he was fighting by letting it come very close. As the vampire reached out to grab him, Tarn'se knocked its' arms away and rammed his wrist blades through its chest. He didn't bother to watch it die as he ran over to the quartet of vampires feeding on his Leader.

With a bellow of anger, Tarn'se felt his senses sharpen again and he reveled in it. Grabbing one vampire, he easily pulled it back and ripped its' head from its shoulders, dropping the corpse and diving towards another. The second vampire saw him coming and hit him square in the face.

Tarn'se barely felt it.

He instead grabbed the vampire by its arm and spun, swinging the vampire as if he was throwing a discus and released it. As the vampire flew away from him Tarn'se fired his plasma caster, taking out its' heart.

He grunted as he felt the third vampire jump on his back and pull him to the ground. The vampire rolled him under it and hissed in his face. Tarn'se pulled out a shuriken and drove it up under its chin splitting its' head in half like a ripe melon. He hacked at its' chest once with the shuriken to make sure it was thoroughly dead.

The fourth vampire was waiting for him, a female it seemed. She opened her mouth wide and hissed. Tarn'se could see Yautja blood running down her face and dripping off her chin. The vampire teleported and reappeared, slamming into him. Tarn'se stumbled backwards and felt his back hit a wall, realizing how close to the buildings he was. The vampire crooned softly at him, touching his dreadlocks in an almost seductive way, "Hello love…" she purred.

Tarn'se tilted his head and replied with a perfect mimicry of the vampire's voice, "Hello love…" He snapped his head forward, his helmet connecting in a loud crack with the vampire's forehead. The vampire staggered backward, dazed, as Tarn'se darted forward and punched his arm through her chest, taking her heart out in the process. The vampire gasped and died, melting around Tarn'se arm.

Tarn'se gasped as he felt the Turning induced high fade as all of his injuries came back to him. His ankle hurt from when he had twisted it and the numerous bruises and scratches about him began to throb and sting. He quickly staggered over to Macre, who lay gasping on the ground.

He was dying. Tarn'se could see that even without aid of his mask. Macre's head turned towards him and his Leader still had the strength to lift his arm tap his chest twice with a closed fist; a gesture of respect. Tarn'se returned the gesture as Macre wheezed out his final breath and the Black Warrior took him.

* * *

Ravyn grabbed the back of Nathan's shirt and pulled him out of the way of a leaping vampire. With a quick flick of her wrist, Ravyn threw one of her daggers at the vampire, hitting it dead center through the heart. Nathan had been reloading his crossbow and hadn't seen the vampire coming.

"Holy crap," Nathan gasped as Ravyn pulled him out of the fight towards Ivy, "You look terrible."

"I feel terrible," Ravyn grumbled back. After fighting her way through the vampires, Ravyn dropped Nathan by Ivy, who was still leaning up against the wall, breathing in long, measured breaths, "Stay here and guard her; I'm going after Eve." Nathan didn't argue with the determined look in Ravyn's eyes as she turned away from him and began jogging away on the outskirts of the battle.

Once past the fighting, Ravyn ran down the street, trying to ignore the cries of pain from both humans and Yautja. She cursed quietly and kept running; she wasn't abandoning them. She was doing this for Tarn'se and any hunters to be Turned against their will, as well as herself.

And she'd die before she lost a fight verses Eve…

_And yet another cliffhanger… I'm giving out a lot of those recently, aren't I? Please review, I want to know how I did describing this big battle. My past ones haven't been very good (looks at Predator 4: War of the Worlds and shudders)._


	21. Battle of the Hunters

_I know… I took forever to update. Over a month I know… but I had to study for Pre-calculus, AP Biology, and AP history tests, so be nice! Thanks a lot to** Chrosis, Raptor-Chick, ben revell, DasNewfie, Lunatic Pandora1, Oak Tree Woman, not aqua, hao, Jjvalour **and** StormRaven333 **for the reviews! 10 for one chapter... sweet._

**Chapter 21: Battle of the Hunters**

Ravyn staggered to a stop in front of the Ash Guild House. The once glorious home of the Ash hunters was now a black, charred skeleton of its' former self. The entire second floor was gone, with the exception of a few overhanging pieces vainly attached to a few of the support pillars that remained. Piles of rubble, charred wood and piping mostly, lay scattered within the wreckage. Looking around her Ravyn sighed at the loss of such a grand home. She could still remember exactly what the place had looked.

Taking careful steps, Ravyn entered the wreckage. She didn't see any holes in the floor, being the floor had been made with concrete, but she still didn't need to fall through a weak spot and break her leg; Eve would have one hell of a laugh at that. Debris crunched under the shoes, releasing plumes of dust and ash into the air that followed in her wake.

After scanning the ruins for a few moments, Ravyn glanced down at her watch: ten minutes. She bit her lip and glanced around again, frantically, for some sign that Eve was there. What if Nathan had been wrong? What if Eve wasn't here?

Then, she glimpsed a sparkle of light a few feet ahead of her. Moving slowly and cautiously, Ravyn approached and grinned.

Eve's silver pocket watch was dangling in the air by an incredibly long chain somehow attached to one of the over hanging bits of ceiling that remained attached to a pillar. Ravyn stopped in front of it and reached out…

Then froze; what was she doing? Ravyn mentally berated herself; what idiot would serious just reach out a grab such a conspicuous looking thing?

A new thought popped into her head as she warily regarded the dangling watch. Every vampire had a particular ability or gift. The ability would progress in strength as well as accuracy as a vampire aged. Nacht's ability had been mind control, which was how she could torture a person by simply concentrating hard enough…

But what ability did Eve possess? Ravyn shrugged off the idea for the moment; she'd worry about it later when the time came.

Returning to her present situation, Ravyn glanced around and dug through the rubble a bit, finally retrieving a four foot long piece of piping. Stepping back, she swung at the watch, hitting the chain a few inches above the watch itself.

And, as she suspected, Eve's trap triggered and the floor fell in, taking the pillar and the watch down with it. Ravyn leapt back and dashed out of the house before it collapsed completely. Though the trap had only taken down a small part of the floor, that hole would make the structure all the more unstable.

Once out of the ruin, Ravyn turned back, staring into the dust and grit that rose into the air. As a breeze began to blow away the tower of dust, Ravyn spun as she heard loud, chiming laughter echo through the air from behind her.

"Well, done! I had hoped you wouldn't be so stupid as to grab that watch; that would have taken the fun out of this whole escapade!" Eve laughed, striding slowly towards her. She was, once again, dressed in an odd outfit. A fine, burgundy silk blouse clung to her upper body while tie-dyed jeans, that matched her hair, clung tightly to her hips. She still wore the black leather boots and her wide brimmed hat complete with feather. She stopped about ten feet away, chuckling, "I thought you weren't going to show up after a while. Then, I was delighted to see your little army march down the street and battle. I must say, I haven't seen such an amazing battle for centuries!"

"Enough talk Eve, you know why I'm here," Ravyn growled, taking a step forward.

"Of course," Eve grinned, "My blood and your cure."

"Give it to me and spare yourself the fight," Ravyn said, moving closer with each step.

"I'd love to, but," Eve teleported and reappeared directly in front of Ravyn, catching both of Ravyn's hands in one of hers, seizing Ravyn's neck with the other, showing amazing reflexes. Hoisting her in the air, Eve grinned widely, showing fangs, "The fight is what I was looking forward to." She disappeared, leaving Ravyn to drop to the ground, barely managing to stay on her feet.

Eve reappeared a few feet away, swinging a whip around and juggling two throwing daggers in her hand, "Being we're both ladies, I'll be the gentleman and let you throw the first punch."

"Alright," Ravyn muttered, pulling out her kukris, "Your funeral." Taking a deep breath, Ravyn felt the abilities gifted to her by the Turning rush into her. Without warning she leapt at Eve and actually managed to sink one of the kukris in Eve's shoulder as she dodged.

Eve let out a yelp of pain as the kukris tore through her shoulder, dropping the throwing knives. Though the wound was minor and healed instantly, Eve regarded Ravyn with a shocked look, "My, my… you're farther along in the Turning than I imagined. How curious…" Eve teleported and reappeared, gracefully moving through a complex series of combat kicks, each aimed with care at Ravyn's chest and head. Ravyn managed to block the ones aimed at her head, but three of the kicks made contact with Ravyn's stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs. She staggered back and tried to gain her breath.

Eve circled her like a shark then her arm flew back and forward, the whip landing with a painful snap on Ravyn's shoulder. Ravyn gasped at the feel of her armor splitting as well as the skin beneath it. Eve pulled back again and snapped at Ravyn's head.

Ravyn dropped to the ground to dodge and charged Eve, her kukris slashing. She saw Eve's hand flick and Ravyn dodged to the side as a dagger whistled by her head. Eve teleported away again and reappeared behind Ravyn, cracking her whip again.

While ducking the whip, Ravyn sheathed a kukri, pulled out a throwing knife, and chucked it at Eve as hard as she could. Eve snatched the knife out of the air as if it was a feather and threw it back at twice the speed. Ravyn barely managed to get out of the way as the knife sailed by and imbedded itself into the brick of the wall of the building behind her.

The whip snapped out and Ravyn rolled to avoid it, drawing her second kukri again. Again and again the snapping of Eve's whip rang out and Ravyn dodged, narrowly missing the whip each time. Finally, as the whip lashed out at her, Ravyn lifted one kukri, the whip snapping around it. She pulled the kukri back and backpedaled, pulling the whip tight. Once it was taut, Ravyn hacked down with the other kukri, cutting the whip in half.

Eve jumped back and looked at her broken whip sadly, "Pity," she murmured as she cast it aside. Then, with a fanged grin, she held up her hands, three razor sharp stilettos clutched in each.

"Damn," Ravyn groaned as the first of the six stilettos flew at her.

* * *

Tarn'se threw his shuriken at the fleeing vampire, the spinning weapon's blades slicing neatly through the vampire's neck. Tarn'se casually caught the shuriken and sheathed it quickly.

The battle was dying down and the vampires were retreating. Many human hunters and Yautja chased after the fleeing vampires while others still battled with the more determine blood suckers.

Glancing about, Tarn'se saw, in total, five Yautja dead as well as a dozen human hunters; ash, weapons, and torn scraps of clothing lay everywhere, all that was left of the vampires.

However, he did not see Ravyn among the dead or the living. He did see two human forms hiding in one of the narrow passageways between the buildings; one seating woth the other crouching in front of it.

Dashing over, he discovered Nathan tending to Ivy's wounds.

"Where is Ravyn?" he asked sharply.

"She went after Eve," Nathan replied, not looking away from the stitches he was putting in Ivy's cheek, "She ran off a few minutes ago."

Tarn'se gave a quick nod then turned to follow Ravyn when Ivy rasped, "Wait! Take this!" She held out a small vial containing a small amount of some clear liquid unknown to him, "This is sunlight serum; it'll kill a vampire if you give it too much so be careful with it."

Tarn'se took the vial gratefully then raced off after Ravyn.

* * *

Ravyn dodged the first two stilettos by weaving in and out of their paths as fast as she could. She began to feel unsteady as the third stiletto whizzed by, cutting into the meat of her arm. Yelping, she slipped and began to fall, praying that the other three whirling stilettos missed her vital organs.

By some miracle, Ravyn landed on the ground without a single scratch from the three stilettos. Not wasting any time questioning her luck, Ravyn jumped to her feet and charged Eve, one kukri dropped in a high attack while the other cut in sharply from the left. Ravyn hoped Eve would dodge one, then accidentally take the other in the stomach or neck.

Unfortunately, Eve simply skittered out of the way of Ravyn's stabbing kukris and caught hold of one of Ravyn's arms, redirecting her momentum, flipping Ravyn to the ground.

Ravyn's head cracked against the pavement and she saw stars. She vaguely felt her kukris slip out of her hands as Eve followed up with her move, kneeling down on Ravyn's chest, pinning her.

Eve tisked loudly, "Ravyn, Ravyn, Ravyn; I must say I'm slightly disappointed in your performance. I imagined you'd have given me much more of a fight. Such a pity…" Eve grinned showing fangs, "For someone who defeated my sister, I expected more of you. I suppose I must carry out Nacht's will one last time."

Eve pulled back for a strike then gasped as a shuriken laced with sunlight serum spun past her neck, nicking her throat. Eve leap backward off Ravyn, grasping her burning throat as she was tackled by Tarn'se and brought to the ground.

* * *

Tarn'se held the vampire down and growled, "Submit."

Eve simply stared at him, her throat dribbling a little blood and smoking slightly as it began to close. Raising one thin, perfect brow Eve asked innocently, "Submit?" Baring her fangs, Eve growled in a voice that sounded frighteningly like Nacht's, "I will never submit!" With that, she teleported and reappeared, kicking Tarn'se square in the face so hard that it knocked his mask clear off his face, "I _never_ submit to _anyone_; not you, nor my sister." With an angry hiss Eve whipped out six more stilettos and launched them all at Tarn'se who was slowly rising off the ground.

* * *

"No!" Ravyn shouted as she saw the knives fly at Tarn'se. But strangely Tarn'se spun and jumped, dodging three of the daggers. However, the other three passed right through him without harm.

Ravyn's eyes widened and she snapped at Eve, "They are an illusion! The stilettos! That's your special ability!"

Eve grinned, "You got me on that one." She quickly threw two more daggers at Ravyn who didn't move, waiting for the illusionary stilettos to pass through her.

Ravyn gasped as one thudded into her stomach and the other into her upper chest, though a lung.

Eve shook her head looking sorrowful, "Not all of them were illusions, hon…" Ravyn shuddered and fell to her knees, the cold metal sending jolts of ice though her veins. She reached down and plucked the one dagger from her stomach, the blade a bright crimson in the moonlight.

* * *

Tarn'se roared and charged Eve, swinging his wrist blades wildly. He knew Ravyn would die; the wound Eve inflicted was deadly on a human. Fury and rage made him stronger and faster than he ever was before.

But he still wasn't fast enough.

Eve easily dodged around him as he flew past. Tarn'se felt thin, cool, claws fingers brush the back of his neck as his dreadlocks tightened. He gave a bark of pain and surprise as Eve yanked his back and slammed him into the ground.

Eve spun and dropped down on top of him, pinning him with surprising strength. She sighed and shook her head, "I honestly though that you two had a good chance at beating me; hell you beat my sister and I knew that was no cake-walk. Still, such a shame that two excellent hunters such as yourselves will die…" Eve grinned, baring her fangs and lowering her mouth to Tarn'se's strained neck, preparing to feed.

Tarn'se shuddered as he felt the sharp, wet fangs brush against his throat. He shut his eyes and prepared for the pain.

Eve's weight on his chest was suddenly relieved and Tarn'se's eyes snapped open to see an extremely pissed off Ravyn barrel into a surprised Eve.

* * *

The two rolled and tumbled for a few feet. In the end, Ravyn was on top of Eve, a dagger digging into Eve's flesh right above her heart while Eve had the razor blade of a throwing knife pressed against Ravyn's carotid artery.

"I win…" Ravyn grinned.

"Not quite," Eve grinned back, "If you stab me, I use my last bit of strength to slit your throat."

"And if you slit my throat I shove this into your heart, and don't try teleporting either. I'm too fast for that now."

Eve smiled coyly, "It seems we are in a stalemate. I rematch is due, I believe…"

"I don't think so," Ravyn growled, pressing down harder on her dagger, pressing it into Eve's skin, making the vampire wince, "Remember the deal? If you win, you get the keep your blood. If not, I get that blood." Ravyn grinned widely, "You never said I had to beat you…"

Eve blinked and seemed to think about it for a moment. Giving Ravyn a surprised look, Eve replied, "So I did not…" Eve grinned again, "Well, why don't you let me up and we'll get this little blood drive started, eh?"

_There's only one more chapter after this…it makes me happy but sad at the same time; I've grown rather fond of this story. I think it may be my best yet! (It certainly is the longest!) Please review!!!_


	22. Epilogue

_Wow…the final chapter. Yes, It definitely took really long to finish this story, but it's FINALLY done! Thanks a lot to** LunaticPandora1, Raptor-Chick, ben revell, Rakai-Thwei, Oak Tree Woman, Maugen Ra, and DasNewfie **for the reviews! I'll stop talk and let you read now!_

**Epilogue**

"That should be enough…" Ivy murmured, popping the cap on the top of the pint-bottle that held Eve's blood. Eve pulled back her wrist and rolled down her shirt sleeve, trying to look as elegant as she could.

"How long will it take to get the cure out of that?" Ravyn asked, holding her burning stomach. The Turning powers had ironically saved her life, healing a good bit of the wound in her stomach and lung. When Eve, Tarn'se, and she had gotten back to the main battle zone, she realized that the wound had reopened during the walk back. Tarn'se had offered her some of his medical supplies to heal it quickly. Ravyn had naively accepted; damn, that stuff freakin' hurt!

"About an hour or so," Ivy replied calmly. Looking at Tarn'se she said, "You can tell your buddies to go back to your ship or whatever. You can meet up with them in a few hours." Tarn'se nodded and moved to join his group as Eve hopped to her feet, "Well, if that's all I'll be on my way." She grabbed Tarn'se's arm and looped hers around his, "Care to escort a lady out of this stinking alley?"

Tarn'se rattled in annoyance and walked quickly out of the alley, hoping Eve would let go of his arm quicker that way.

Eve, however, seemed to enjoy hanging on his arm and proceeded to do so as Tarn'se approached Far'hnde. Tarn'se reacted in a split second as Far'hnde spun and threw a dagger at Eve' heart.

Tarn'se spun, dragging Eve out of the path of the dagger and pushed her away, leaping forward to grab Far'hnde's wrist, "No! She has aided us; she goes free!" Far'hnde growled irritably but relaxed and did not pursue Eve. Tarn'se glanced around to find Eve had disappeared, most likely she had teleported.

"I will return to my pod and the ship in an hour or so," Tarn'se said, "I still need their cure." Far'hnde nodded curtly; when Tarn'se had returned, he had told the Arbitrator of his… illness and Far'hnde had agreed to let him stay and take the cure.

"Take your cure with haste; we must leave as soon as possible. The Elders need to know of these events." Far'hnde paused, thinking, "You can expect my support when you present your discoveries to the Elders personally."

Tarn'se dipped his head deeply, "My thanks, Arbitrator Far'hnde." Having an Arbitrator's support, especially coming from one as famous as Far'hnde, would undoubtedly aid Tarn'se when he told the Elders of the vampires. It was going to be hard enough trying to get them to believe him, being how bizarre the vampires were.

With a commanding roar, Far'hnde called the surviving clan members to him and cloaked, leading them away from the streets back towards their own pods, hidden in a secluded part of the city. Jaelre gave Tarn'se a waving farewell and Tarn'se gestured back; they would see each other again in due time.

As he walked back to the alley, Tarn'se heard Eve callout, "Thank you, dear hunter… I dare say, I would have been dead if it wasn't for you."

Tarn'se spun to see Eve standing a few feet away from him. With a grin, Eve tossed a tiny disk to Tarn'se who caught it easily. Eve tipped her hat at him, "I owe you one," and teleported away.

Tarn'se examined the small round coin in his palm curiously. Slipping it into one of the pouches on his belt, he decided to ask Ravyn what it was later.

* * *

"There we go," Ivy smiled, "Good as new." Ravyn glanced at the small drop of blood that welled out of the puncture mark in her skin. She was cured… after all she had done, she was cured.

Tarn'se held as still as a statue as Ivy gave him his injection. After testing it on a blood sample from each of them, Ivy was positive the cure would work.

Nathan sat in a chair, casually watching Ivy toss away the syringes and type something into her computer.

They were all back in the laboratory though the atmosphere had changed drastically from the last time they had been there. Ravyn glanced at Tarn'se who was absently fiddling with Eve's "favor" between his fingers; once Ravyn had explained to him what is was he said that he already had plans for it.

Ivy sighed and sat back into a spare chair, "Well, that was a success… now I need a vacation…"

Ravyn smiled at Ivy's joke; they _all_ needed a vacation. Ravyn sighed and looked at Tarn'se, "Well, I guess you'll be going back to your home with your friends now."

Tarn'se's head dipped, "Yes, I must return."

Ravyn nodded and began to lead Tarn'se outside, closely followed by Nathan and Ivy. Once outside Ravyn narrowed her eyes curiously at Tarn'se, "So, are we ever going to see you again, or is this just a one time thing?"

Tarn'se pause, thinking, "You may not see me, but I can guarantee you will see a few more of my kind. Once they hear of the new prey here, there's nothing that will stop them from coming here. I will tell them to leave your group alone, though; they will only hunt vampires."

Ravyn shrugged, "Hey, it just makes our job easier. Maybe if we meet again I'll introduce you to some shape shifters."

"Shape shifters?" Tarn'se asked warily.

Ravyn grinned, "Yep… I'll see you around then." Tarn'se placed his hand on Ravyn's shoulder and she placed hers one his, though she had to stand on her toes to do so. Tarn'se repeated the farewell with Ivy and Nathan and began to walk away.

As Ravyn watched the alien go, the silence was suddenly broken by Nathan shouting after Tarn'se, "Hey! Can I have your autograph?!"

* * *

-Two Weeks Later-

Tarn'se stood just outside of the Elder Counsel's meeting chamber. Arbitrator Far'hnde stood in front of him, while the rest of the Yautja that had fought and survived the vampire attack were lined up behind him.

His thoughts drifted back to when he had last seen the vampire hunters. Nathan had asked him for an "autograph" while Ivy had burst out laughing and Ravyn had strangely walked over to the doorframe and started hitting her head against it.

Tarn'se hadn't known what an "autograph" was, but he had given Nathan a small dagger and the young human had seemed delighted all the same.

The wide black doors creaked open, and the procession marched into the hall. The chamber was one of the most grand of Yautja monuments, the walls etched with depictions of Yautja battling all sort of opponents, from _kainde amedha_ to the Black Warrior, Cetanu, himself. Elaborately woven tapestries, their fabric absorbing a reflecting heat also depicted more ritual scenes.

The Counsel hall was filled with Yautja. Those of high-rank, leaders, minor Elders, and Arbitrators, along with a few representatives of near-by residing clans were seated in chairs lining the pillared room. The other members of the clan stood at attention. Each Yautja watched the procession with absolute concentration; an announcement had been made that something _very_ important would be presented here, but no one was quite sure what.

Far'hnde stopped directly in front of the dais that the thirteen Elders seats where positioned upon. The rest of the warriors fanned out behind the Arbitrator, each going down on one knee and bowing their heads in respect.

Far'hnde remained standing, but bowed his head as well, "Elder Counsel, I bring you both intriguing, yet disturbing news."

The head Elder rasped quietly, though every Yautja in the room could hear him, "What news do you bring, Arbitrator Far'hnde.

Far'hnde gestured to Tarn'se who was kneeling a few paces away from him, "Warrior Tarn'se would be better able to answer your questions than I; it was he who made the discovery."

The head Elder gestured to Tarn'se who stood and approached Far'hnde's position. Far'hnde backed away a bit, giving Tarn'se the floor to speak, "Elders, during my hunt upon earth, I came upon a new sect of humanity; a new species, perhaps."

Hisses and growls rang out from around the room. Surprise and confusion prevailed in the voices. The head Elder raised his clawed hand and the room fell silent again.

Tarn'se continued, "This new race of humans has had their genes twisted and mutated by a virus, turning them into stronger, more able predator. They possess many abilities rarely or, perhaps, never seen before by Yautja, including telepathy, telekinesis, and even a form of teleportation." This proclamation was met with some laughter and condescending tones. Tarn'se sounded like a raving lunatic.

Tarn'se ignored the murmurs and continued, "Also, they have remarkable healing powers. Nothing can kill them besides removing their heads, or destroying their hearts. But this virus that has so aided them had weakened them as well. Sunlight burns their flesh and they survive…" Tarn'se trailed off and took a deep breath in preparation for the audiences' reaction, "They survive by drinking the blood of other creatures."

As expected, hundreds of outcries echoed from the surrounding spectators, mostly of disbelief. The Elders shouted for silence and, after a few moments, the chamber was quiet again.

Tarn'se continued, "Also, as I was studying this new "species" of human, I came across a group of highly trained humans that hunted these creatures and gave them the name of "vampires".

"Sightings of these creature have never been recorded to my knowledge, but I assure you, they are very real and quite a challenge to fight. We may have a new prey more dangerous than humans to hunt now." Tarn'se stopped and stepped back, waiting for the Elders to speak.

"And what proof do you have, Warrior Tarn'se?" an Elder questioned, "What do you bring to prove your tale of these… mutated humans?"

Tarn'se gestured behind him, "I have firstly, the collaboration from my clan mates and Arbitrator Far'hnde as to the existence of these beings. Secondly," Tarn'se pulled out Nacht's skull and held it high, "This is the skull of one of their most powerful representatives that I personally fought. And lastly," Tarn'se paused, "I have a more… substantial example." Tarn'se lowered the skull of Nacht and fiddled with something in his left hand, soon freezing as if waiting for something to happen.

There was a long pause where no one moved or spoke. After a few tense seconds whispers began to break out and, eventually, the head Elder spoke, "Warrior Tarn'se, you say you have an example, but I see no…"

"Well, I've certainly never seen anything like this before!" a human voice cried out as Eve stepped out from behind a pillar, "Quite pretty this place is, though rather hot; with all the technology you guys must have, can't you afford a decent air-conditioner?" Eve was wearing tight black jeans and a neon-green shirt that sparkled with sequins, along with a black leather belt with silver studs, steel-toed boots, numerous silver bracelets and necklaces, and her infamous hat.

The Yautja screamed in shock as the guards that had been stationed sporadically through the chamber descended upon Eve. Eve merely raise a brow and teleported away. Startled the guards darted their heads around, looking for the human that seemed to disappear into thin air.

"What was that!?" one of the Elders shouted.

"A vampire," Tarn'se replied, looking around for where Eve had teleported off to.

"A vampire?" the head Elder asked in shock, "You brought one here?"

"I'm guessing these guys are your rulers," Eve spoke inquisitively, appearing on top of the thick back of the head Elder's seat, "Damn, you guys must get uglier with age, as it is with all beings. Good thing I can't age, eh?" The Elders each yelped in surprise and shock, causing the guards to dart towards them. Eve grinned like the Cheshire cat and teleported again.

"Jumpy guys aren't they?" Eve said as she reappeared next to Tarn'se, draping herself onto his arm.

"Get off," Tarn'se growled shaking his arm a bit.

Eve stubbornly clung to him, "I can't understand a word your saying, hon. You'd best put on your translator… mask… thingy."

Tarn'se sighed and pulled his mask off his belt, Eve letting go of his arm so he could attach it properly. Once his arm was back at his side however, Eve latched back on.

"Do you enjoy attaching yourself to my arm?!" Tarn'se growled irritably, aware that damn near every Yautja in his clan was watching this bizarre human hang from his arm.

"You have a lovely arm," Eve purred, "And you should feel honored; I don't give out compliments that often."

Tarn'se sighed in resignation, and spoke to his clan, trying to ignore the hat-wearing vampire, "This is Eve, one of the vampires' most powerful… leaders. I fought her myself, and without the aid of a human hunter, I would have lost. However, due to a strange chance of fate, I saved her life, and by her own laws she owed me a favor that… what do you want!?" Tarn'se snapped at Eve who was continuously prodding him in the shoulder.

Eve tapped the jutting part of his mask, and scolded, "There's no need to yell. Unfortunately, you're timing sucks. I happen to be leaving for Europe in under an hour, so why don't you make it snappy and tell me what you need."

"I was going to before you interrupted me," Tarn'se growled, "Besides, can't you just teleport to… U'rop?"

Eve grinned, "I could, but I so love boat rides, now get back to your little speech so I can get going, though I do love hanging on your arm so; we'd make a perfect prom couple. Damn, I should've worn my dress…"

Tarn'se ignored Eve's babbling and continued, "As I was saying, she owes me a favor so I summoned her here to act as a demonstration of vampires and their abilities."

"Wait one minute sonny!" Eve said proudly, pulled away from Tarn'se, placing her hands on her hips, and pouting slightly, "I'm no dog that's going to perform tricks for you and your single-minded drinking buddies! I have my dignity!"

Tarn'se growled in frustration, "You are not going to do tricks; I merely wish for you to demonstrate your powers and abilities… in a non-destructive way," Tarn'se added quickly, noting the evil glint in Eve's eyes.

"Demonstrate my powers, eh?" Eve slowly surveyed her surroundings, taking in all of the Yautja that watched her with curious, and frightened, gazes.

Eve grinned, her fangs growing long, drawing gasps from those that could see them. Eve gave a high, keening laugh that sent shudders through all the Yautja present. With a wicked smile of fangs Eve turned to Tarn'se…

"Where should I begin?"

_Damn, writing this story was fun. I'm kinda sad that it's over. Well, first off I need to thank all of my reviewers that helped me along with this (and jabbed me in the butt with pointy sticks at some points). Here's a list of the wonderful people: **Raptor-Chick, DasNewfie, ben revell, LunaticPandora1, Rakai-Thwei, L. Byron, Chrosis, StormRaven333, Maugen Ra, Oak Tree Woman, Jjvalour, hao, not aqua, iconofcoolness, ZackOHolic, Warlordomega, Prairiefire, juju, shade, Prometheus FireBringer, SADDAMINSANE, resinense cascade, Queen of the Red Skittle, Deshwitat'slover, Lulliloo, Ox King, Anon, Justox, edward taylor, Setg'-in, nameless, the demon alchemist, Sl'askia?, Jade, Storm, Lord CrutchCricket, Stormseer88, Optimus Primal, Ki'aba, Christian Jones, Auryon, shardae, jj, Coranth, blazer01, Echo, Angelus288, sabor ice, bae'qeshel, The Aluminun Chef, Rafe Jones, Aqualung, Heart of Lies, and Quillian**. Wow, that's a lot of people; then again, I've gotten over 10,000, yes, 10,000 hits on this story. Holy crap... __-salutes- You guys rule!_

_Now, I have 2 stories still in progress. I'm started to get VERY tempted to reboot the "Predator: Ancient World" story. The only problem is I'm not sure where I want to take it yet so I must ask for more of that astoundingly-long-lasting patience of those fans. I'm probably going to start another story up soon, but I'm not sure which one, so I've decided to ask you guys!_

"_Predator 5: Ambassadors" is the third, and FINAL, part of my Predator series with my characters Saren'te and Jean. "Predator: Monsters" is, you guessed it, the sequel to "Predator: Hunters". So, which one do you guys want?_

_Well, that's enough babble. Thanks again for all your guys support and I'm dedicating this story to my cat Fluffy that died in the making of this story… He loved to hiss at me, but he was a great cat; I love ya, Fluffy! (Yes, I did have a cat named "Fluffy".)_

_Oh, BTW, please review and tell me what story you want next!_

_TOOTLES!_

_Bastet1023 _


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